Asia Cup 2022: PAK vs AFG: PAK Playing 11 vs AFG (Predicted), Super 4, Match 4 (A2 vs B2)

Asia Cup 2022: PAK vs AFG: PAK Playing 11 vs AFG (Predicted), Super 4, Match 4 (A2 vs B2). Pakistan will meet Afghanistan in their second Super 4 game on 7th September 2022, Wednesday at 7:30 pm in Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka are the teams taking part in the Super Four stage.

Sri Lanka defeated Afghanistan in a thrilling contest that went down till the last over in the second innings and opened their account with two points in their kitty, and two games to play. In another last-over thriller, Pakistan got the better of rivals India to collect their first two points of the Super Four stage. Hence, Pakistan and Afghanistan have mixed fortunes so far in the Super 4 stages.

In the group stage, Afghanistan had beaten Sri Lanka by eight wickets and Bangladesh by seven wickets while Pakistan lost to India by five wickets before defeating Hong Kong by 155 runs.

Mohammad Nawaz stunned India with the bat after helping restrict them with the ball after a rampant start to give Pakistan a thrilling win in their Super 4 match against India. A week after India chased successfully in a thrilling group-stage finish, Pakistan returned the favour, asking India to bat and getting home with just one ball to spare.

Mohammad Rizwan anchored the chase with 71 off 51, but it was Mohammad Nawaz who provided the desperately needed impetus. Promoted to No. 4, he smashed 42 off 20 balls to put Pakistan back on track as India’s Virat Kohli’s 44 balls 60 went in vain.

Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan 182 for 5 (Rizwan 71, Nawaz 42) beat India 181 for 7 (Kohli 60, Rahul 28, Rohit 28, Shadab 2-31) by five wickets

The right-arm pacer Shahnawaz Dahani was ruled out against India in the first Super 4 game due to a suspected side strain injury while bowling against Hong Kong in the final group stage match. Injury issues keep piling up for Pakistan’s pacers as they lost Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Wasim even before the start of the Asia Cup 2022 tournament.

Mohammad Hasnain played against India and conceded 38 runs in 4 overs besides picking the prized wicket of Hardik Pandya which played a decisive role in Pakistan’s win. Afghanistan is likely to go unchanged against Pakistan whereas Pakistan may rest a few of their players. The likes of Hasan Ali, Haider Ali, and Usman Qadir are on the bench waiting for opportunities.

Asia Cup 2022: PAK vs AFG: PAK Playing 11 vs AFG (Predicted), Super 4, Match 4 (A2 vs B2)

Babar Azam

Babar Azam is the skipper of Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022. He should be the opener for the team during the tournament. The right-handed batsman is currently the top-ranked ICC batsman in T20Is but is yet to fire in Asia Cup 2022. Babar Azam has scored 2719 runs in 77 T20Is averaging 43.85. He has 1 ton and 26 fifties in the shortest format with a career-best of 122 against Proteas.

He scored only 10 off 9 balls against India in Asia Cup 2022. He failed yet again against easier opponents in Hong Kong (9 off 8) when the other Pakistan batters were making merry. He failed to score much again in the Super 4 match against India scoring only 14 off 10. He has scored only 33 runs in 3 T20Is in Asia Cup 2022 at an average of only 11.

Mohammad Rizwan

Mohammad Rizwan should be the wicketkeeper and the other opener for Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022. Last year, Mohammad Rizwan smacked 1326 runs in 26 T20I games at an outstanding average of 73.66, slamming 1 century and 12 half-centuries.

He has amassed 1854 runs in 59 T20Is averaging a stunning 52.97 with 1 ton and 15 fifties. He top-scored with 43 off 42 balls in the defeat against India in Asia Cup 2022. He again top-scored with an unbeaten 78 off 57 balls against Hong Kong and was named MOM. He is the leading run-getter in Asia Cup 2022 with 192 runs averaging 96 after scoring 71 off 51 balls against India in Super 4.

Fakhar Zaman

Fakhar Zaman should be the one-down batsman for Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022. The left-handed batsman played 24 T20I games last year and scored 415 runs at an average of 24.41. He also hit 3 half-centuries. He scored his 8th fifty against Hong Kong.

Fakhar Zaman is an experienced batsman for Pakistan and will be a good choice at the no.3 batting spot. He has amassed 1331 runs in 68 T20Is averaging 22.56 with 8 fifties. He scored 53 off 41 balls against Hong Kong before being dismissed by Ehsan Khan. He scored only 15 off 18 balls in the Super 4 match against India.

Iftikhar Ahmed

Iftikhar Ahmed should be another middle-order batsman for Pakistan in the playing XI. The right-handed batsman scored 70 runs in 6 T20I matches last year at a strike rate of 125.

He has scored 301 runs in 21 T20Is averaging 30.1 at a strike rate of 133.78 with a best of 62* against Australia. He scored 28 off 22 balls before edging one to keeper Dinesh Karthik off Hardik Pandya against India in Asia Cup 2022 opener. He didn’t bat against Hong Kong and hit the winning runs against India in the Super 4 match.

Asif Ali

Asif Ali scored 9 off 7 balls against India in Asia Cup 2022. He didn’t bat against Hong Kong. Asif Ali scored a quick 16 off 8 balls before being lbw-ed by Arshdeep Singh in the last over. The bowler had earlier dropped a regulation catch in the 18th over. But his missed catch cost India the match.

Asif Ali smashed an unbeaten 27 off 12 balls against New Zealand and followed it up with 25* off 7 against Afghanistan in the 2021 T20I World Cup in the same country-UAE, which included four sixes in an over. In both matches, the 30-year-old lifted Pakistan to victory in tense circumstances. In 42 T20Is, he has amassed 460 runs averaging 17.04 with a best of 41*. His Strike Rate of 135.29 is a testimony to his hard-hitting skills and finishing abilities.

Khushdil Shah

Khusdil Shah has played 16 T20Is where he scored 239 runs averaging 26.56. He will be a member of the Pakistan side in the Asia Cup 2022. He played against India in the Asia Cup 2022 but could manage only 2 off 7 balls before being Hardik Pandya’s victim.

He scored an unbeaten cameo – 35 runs off 15 balls including 5 sixes against Hong Kong. The last over bowled by Aizaz Khan saw him hit 4 sixes. He scored an unbeaten 14 off 11 against India in the Super 4 Asia Cup 2022 match.

Shadab Khan

Shadab Khan should be an all-rounder for Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022. The right-handed batsman scored 92 runs in 7 T20I innings last year at an average of 46.0 and a brilliant strike rate of 170+. The leg spinner also picked 20 wickets in 18 games at an average of 19.60. In 67 T20Is, he has scored 285 runs and has taken 79 scalps averaging 17.81 and 20.87 respectively.

He scored 10 runs and conceded 19 runs in 4 overs against India in the Asia Cup 2022 group fixture. Against Hong Kong, he was the pick of the bowlers picking 4/8 in 2.4 overs which saw Hong Kong bundled out for 38. He was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers against India in super 4 too, picking 2/31 in 4 overs which included scalps of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant.

Mohammad Nawaz

Mohammad Nawaz has featured in 33 T20Is where he picked 32 scalps averaging 23.66. He was the top wicket-taker in the Asia Cup 2022 match against India by picking 3/33 in 3.4 overs but couldn’t defend 6 runs in the last over.  He picked Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja’s scalps.

In 2 overs, he picked 3 scalps conceding 5 runs against Hong Kong. He was MOM against India in Super 4 again, picking Suryakumar Yadav’s scalp and conceding only 25 runs in 4 overs. But it was his career-best 42 off 20 balls being promoted higher up the order that resulted in Pakistan’s win. With 7 scalps, he is the joint leading wicket-taker in Asia Cup 2022 after the group league concluded.

Naseem Shah

For Pakistan, teenage pace sensation Naseem Shah made his T20I debut and impressed everyone with his speed and control. He finished with figures of 4-0-27-2 and accounted for the wickets of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav.

However, towards the end of the innings, Naseem Shah looked like suffering from cramps. Despite that, he was brave enough to continue and left the after the 18th over against India. He played against Hong Kong and bowled 2 overs picking 2/7. Naseem Shah averages a mere 15.8 in the 3 T20Is he played, all coming in Asia Cup 2022. He returned with figures of 1/45 in the Super 4 match against India.

Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf should be one of the pacers for Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022. In the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf will be the most crucial pacer for Pakistan. The right-arm pacer picked 25 wickets in 23 T20I games last year at an average of 25.48 and an economy of 8.33.

He has taken 43 scalps in 38 T20Is averaging 26.12. He was wicketless against India in Asia Cup 2022, returning with figures of 0/35 in 4 overs. His economy of 8.52 is on the higher side. He conceded 6 runs in a solitary wicketless over bowled against Hong Kong. He returned with figures of 1/38 in 4 overs in a super 4 match against India.

Hasan Ali, who has taken 60 scalps in 49 T20Is averaging 23.15, may get a chance if Haris Rauf is rested. Hasan Ali was a late entrant to the side in Asia Cup 2022 Pakistan squad where he replaced an injured Mohammad Wasim.

Mohammad Hasnain

Mohammad Hasnain picked the vital scalp of Hardik Pandya in the Super 4 match against India and conceded 38 runs in 4 overs. The 22-year-old right-arm pacer Mohammad Hasnain was named as the replacement for the premier Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for the Asia Cup 2022.

Mohammad Hasnain, who was recently banned for his illegal bowling action, has so far played 8 ODIs and 19 T20Is for the Men In Green. He has picked up 12 ODI wickets and 18 T20I wickets averaging more than 30. Pakistan pacer Shahnawaz Dahani was ruled out of Sunday’s Asia Cup Super-4 game against arch-rivals India with a suspected side strain, which he picked during his side’s 155-run win over Hong Kong on Friday.

Shahnawaz Dahani has played only 4 T20Is and has picked 3 scalps averaging 27.67. He returned with figures of 0/29 in 4 overs in the Asia Cup 2022 match against India. He also scored 16 off 6 which included 2 sixes batting at No. 11 before being bowled by pacer Arshdeep Singh. Shanawaz Dahani also picked a wicket bowling 2 overs and conceded 7 runs against Hong Kong.