Afghans hope for revival against spirited Pakistan
Afghanistan will want to rediscover their group stage dominance but might find it to be a steep task against a spirited Pakistan when the two sides meet today in Sharjah in what is anticipated to be a high-voltage T20 clash in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup.
Pakistan defeated arch-rivals India by five wickets in their first Super 4 stage match last Sunday and a win for them today could all but confirm their tickets to the final of the continental tournament, scheduled for September 11 at the Dubai International Stadium.
The Babar Azam-led side avenged their five-wicket defeat to India in the group stage with the same margin victory over Rohit Sharma's side and will only be looking to build on the confidence gained from that match.
The top-ranked batter in T20Is, Babar, is yet to make his mark in the continental championship. He scored just 14,9 and 10 in the three games played in this edition of the tournament. The right-hander would definitely hope today's game to be the one in which he could get going.
However, Babar's opening partner, Mohammad Rizwan, has been in tremendous form throughout the tournament. Having scored two consecutive fifties in the last two matches and a 43-run knock in the first game against India, Rizwan has been the standout performer not only for Pakistan but also in the marquee event. He is the top-scorer with 192 runs at a staggering 96 average, and Pakistan would once again need the 30-year-old to provide the platform at the top.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan, who had dominated the group stage with comprehensive wins over Bangladesh and hosts Sri Lanka, now find themselves at the bottom of the table with a negative net run-rate of -0.589 after being upstaged by the Lankans in their first Super 4 game last Saturday.
Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi rued falling '20-25 runs short' in their game against Sri Lanka despite getting off to a blistering start. That is something the Afghans would be hoping to rectify when they face a relatively stronger Pakistan bowling attack at the same venue today.