The Afghanistan cricket team is facing a buoyant Pakistan cricket team in a Super 12 Group 2 match of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup at the Dubai Cricket International Stadium, Dubai, on Friday, October 29. Placed second on the points table, Afghanistan became the first team to bat in Dubai.

On winning the toss, Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi said: “We will bat first. It looks dry on the top, could be good for batting first, look to put a decent total on the board and then defend it. We are playing the same team.”

Losing the toss, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said: “The mood in the camp is good, we’re in great spirits. It’s a team game and I’m lucky to have a good set-up, can’t write off any team, they have good spinners. We’re also playing an unchanged team.”

Team (from)

Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad(w), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

This will only be the second time these two nations will be playing a T20I match against each other. The first was played in 2013, Pakistan won that match by 6 wickets with only a ball to spare.

“They (Afghanistan) have a wonderful bowling attack, especially their spinners. And when they go to bat, they play the way they feel it, what’s in their heart, what they think. They just go and execute the plan. They just play fearless cricket. And I think that kind of a team can be dangerous,” – Saqlain Mushtaq said ahead of the Afghanistan clash.

As for Rashid Khan, he said: “To be honest, we don’t have the mindset of focussing on hitting sixes. We just have to adjust ourselves to the wicket as well. As long as you go there and adjust there, it becomes easier for you, especially on these pitches. That’s the kind of mindset all the batsmen have… It’s not about going hard at every ball.”