DUBAI: Pakistan will play their third match of the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday (today) as it seeks to enter the semi-final stage of the tournament.
The match will be played at 7 PM (PST). Pakistan is leading the group with four points and has already won their opening two matches against arch-rival India and New Zealand.
Afghanistan is sitting in second place after a big win against Scotland. Namibia is third with two points while India, New Zealand and Scotland failed to win their matches so far.
A weekend capacity crowd is expected from amongst the huge expatriate population of both nations who live and work in the Gulf. Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semi-finals are bright with two wins. However, Afghanistan is also considered a dangerous side due to its recent performances.
Pakistan thrashed India well in the first match by 10 wickets. They also easily defeated the Kiwis in their second match. Afghanistan easily defeated defending champions West Indies in their warm-up match. They also beat Scotland by a huge margin of 130 runs.
Afghan bowlers Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman will give a tough time to the batsmen of the opposing team, while Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shehzad and Asghar Afghan are in good form for batting performances. The two teams played a thrilling match in World Cup 2019. Pakistan won it by three wickets.
Fans should remain calm
Former Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has appealed to fans of both Pakistan and Afghanistan to remain calm when the two teams collide in their first T20 World Cup clash.
Afghanistan and Pakistan played against each other in a World Cup match. However, fans from both teams collided inside and outside the stadium. Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid played in that 50-over World Cup game at Headingley in Leeds in 2019.
“Definitely it’s always a good game against Pakistan, but this should remain as a game,” he said in a statement. He requested fans to “stay cool and calm and enjoy the game”, adding that whatever transpired between fans during the last World Cup clash should not happen again.
Rashid claimed four wickets and fellow spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman took five as Afghanistan started their T20 World Cup in style, bowling out Scotland for just 60 in reply to their mammoth 190-4.
However, tensions could cause violence in the stadium and outside, as both teams remain undefeated in the tournament so far and are chasing a place in the semi-finals of the mega-event. Rashid said that the squad is trying just to focus on the tournament.
