*AFGHANISTAN VS PAKISTAN 2nd ODI 2023 PREVIEW*
*THE BUILD UP:*
*PAKISTAN BATTING UNDER THE SCANNER AS AFGHANISTAN AIM FOR A COMEBACK:*
Pakistan batted without any conviction and freedom, it felt as if they were caught in a web- a stranglehold of sort where the Afghani spinners tied them down. The pitch was no doubt a turning one and the batting lineup was tested. With the Asia Cup also expected to happen in similar testing conditions, it was a good reality check for the men in green who would be eagerly looking forward to the second game in order to reverse how this humiliation happened.
Alot of seniors and experts sit out and appreciate the brilliance of Rashid but what we fail to do is give Mujeeb enough credit for how accurately he pin points the stumps and reaps rewards. His three-fer was most certainly helpful in restricting Pakistan to a mere 201 and there’s no stopping him even tomorrow specially with the form that he’s coming from and the surface also at hand which we can see a slow one, again.
However, what became the highlight of the opener, shadowing the prowess of the Afghani bowlers was the fire that the Pakistan pace trio breathed. They were unstoppable from start to the end and these are ominous signs for the neighbours come the Asia Cup. On a slow track, they purchased enough zip and bamboozled the Afghani lineup, not leaving any room for correcting the mistakes. With another heroic effort in mind, let us see the Probable XIs that are set to take the field.
*AFGHANISTAN PROBABLE XI:*
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi
From the way I see it, Rauf and co were simply too good for Afghans but there’s a glimmer of hope that the Atalans can stage a comeback with the quality that they have in their batting. The likes of Gurbaz and Zadran at the top followed by the experience of Shahidi Rahmat and Mohammad Nabi in the middle ignites confidence and the Afghani boys should back themselves against the express pace unit of Pakistan. A comeback could well be on the cards. My focus will be on how Gurbaz looks to deal Shaheen upfront. He should try and be aggressive in order to cut short the aggressiveness of the left armer.
Like always, it was the spinners stepping up for Afghans in a crunch game with the pace battery not getting a fair amount of help. The pacers clearly struggled and Afgh also under bowled them after having a look at the surface. Expect the troika of Mujeeb-Nabi-Rashid to be amongst the wickets again as Pakistan look to forget the outing they had the other day in the first innings.
*PAKISTAN PROBABLE XI:*
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
Babar Azam is an ODI giant and has accumulated tons of runs for Pakistan in the last few years. He has a good technical game but his struggles vs spin are very much evident now. He was trapped by Mujeeb last game (in front of the stumps) and hasn’t been able to get past that weakness of his in recent times. Babar appears very tentative and lacks options vs quality spin and if you bowl accurately at him, things most often than not get complicated. The Afghani spin trio will be eager to get the better of him again.
Imam grinding it out on a tough track are good signs for the Pakistan top order. We have seen the likes of Fakhar and Babar step up in dire needs and rise to the occasion but Imam has been an exception in that case. His innings last game which was slow and steady with a touch of maturity will go along way in defining his character and prep him for the mega event to be held in similar playing conditions. Looking forward to watching how the southpaw continues this run of form.
Alot of great things have been said about the pace lineup of Pakistan but very little about their spin lineup. It boils down to how largely untested they have been as a group. They need their spinners at the top of the mark specially with spin likely to play a big part in the events to come. I would like to see a reversal of bowling figures from Shadab who has been largely underwhelming as an ODI bowler.
*MY PREDICTIONS:*
*FOR AFGHANISTAN:*
Highest run getter- Rehmatullah Gurbaz/Mohammad Nabi
Highest wicket taker- Rashid Khan/Mujeeb ul Rehman
*FOR PAKISTAN:*
Highest run getter- Babar Azam/Mohammad Rizwan
Highest wicket taker- Naseem Shah/Shaheen Shah Afridi
*FOR THE GAME:*
Pakistan to win