T20 World Cup: Afghanistan clash against formidable Pakistan today

One of the most anticipated T20 World Cup matches will take place today (Friday) as Pakistan take on Afghanistan, with the former looking to secure a berth in the semi-finals of the tournament while the latter will be looking to avenge its defeat at the hands of the green shirts during the 2019 World Cup.

Pakistan will go into the game filled with confidence, after the green shirts defeated arch-rivals India in the first match while they also thrashed New Zealand on Tuesday in their second match of the tournament.

Skipper Babar Azam had earlier told the team not to take any match confidently, not to get overexcited and focus on winning the T20 World Cup for the nation.

Interim head coach Saqlain Mushtaq had earlier warned the men in green to not take Afghanistan lightly.

“We know Afghanistan is a very good team but our plans are well-placed and we need to execute those plans as we have done in the first two games,” Mushtaq said, addressing a press conference in Dubai.

He said it is not easy to score big on pitches, as one has to be technically strong while playing on such fields.

“Rashid and Mujeeb are quality spinners and have been doing well for their team as well as in the private leagues around the world, but we have plans against them,” said Mushtaq.

A day earlier, former Afghanistan captain and one of the world’s best bowlers in T20 cricket, Rashid Khan, urged fans of both Pakistan and Afghanistan to steer clear of clashes and fights.

The last time the two teams met in the ICC World Cup 2019, Pakistan won the match. However, ugly scenes of fans of the two nations battling it out with one another inside and outside the stadiums made their way to social media.