PAK vs AFG, Preview | Afghanistan eye redemption after opening game defeat in first game
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The fourth match of the UAE T20I tri-series will be played between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on September 2. Pakistan will look to maintain their undefeated run in the series while Afghanistan will be eyeing redemption after opening game defeat against the Green shirts.
The UAE T20I tri-series might still be in its early stages, but there are still some iconic matches to look forward to in this tournament. The fourth game of the tournament will see the battle between South Asian giants Pakistan and the unpredictable underdogs in Afghanistan for the second time in the tri-series. Before the tri-series, the two teams had last faced each other in 2023, where the Afghans had beaten the Green Shirts by a 2-1 margin in a T20I series at the same venue.
Despite ending up on the losing side in the last series, the Pakistan team under the leadership of Salman Agha had beaten the Afghan nation convincingly in the opening game of the series by a margin of 39 runs on the back of a brilliant half-century by the skipper and a terrific spell from Haris Rauf. They continued their dominant performance against the host nation as well, whom they beat by 31 runs, and have jumped to the top of the points table with two wins in a row.
Though Afghanistan could not repeat the same magic of the last series against the Men in Green, they will be looking for redemption since every game is crucial for them at this point. The Rashid Khan-led side was completely outplayed in the last game and will be looking to come back stronger in the second game and break Pakistan's undefeated streak in the United Arab Emirates T20I tri-series.
Pakistan’s recent form in T20Is has improved after their series win against the West Indies, having won four and lost only one game out of the last five matches.
Afghanistan might have won their last T20I series against Zimbabwe, but it has not improved their form in the shortest format, having won two and lost three in their last five ventures.
Pakistan: W W W L W
Afghanistan: L W W L L
Pakistan has a great record against Afghanistan in T20Is in the eight matches they have played against them. The Green shirts have been victorious on five occasions and have only three losses to their name.
Pakistan 5 - 3 Afghanistan
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium’s small boundaries might give the batters a bit of freedom to play their shots, but the pitch being on the drier side assists the pacers with some uneven bounce, and the spinner might get some grip as well. Setting a total seems to be an ideal choice on this wicket, which could be noticed in the last two games of the tournament.
The weather is expected to be hot and humid in Sharjah, with the probable temperature being around 33-35 degrees Celsius.
Pakistan are not expected to make any changes to their playing eleven in the upcoming game.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, might make a like-for-like replacement by bringing in Gulbadin Naib in place of Karim Janat and bring back Fareed Ahmad Malik in the lineup.
Pakistan Probable XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem.
Afghanistan Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik.
The fourth match of the UAE T20I tri-series between Pakistan and Afghanistan will be digitally streamed on the Fancode ap and website at 8:30 pm.
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