Last Update on: October 29th, 2021 at 10:10 am
Pakistan and Afghanistan will lock horns in the 24th match of the ICC T20 World Cup on Saturday. Perhaps, not of people expected Pakistan to play the way they are playing right now. They began their campaign with two big games against India and New Zealand and managed to win both of them. The two games saw how sorted they are in all departments of the game.
The first game saw Pakistan’s solid bowling line-up and the exceptional form of their openers. i.e., Babar Azam and M Rizwan. Shaheen Shah Afridi was brilliant against India, picking 3 for 31 in 4 overs. And, the second game saw H Rauf starring with the ball. He broke the back of New Zealand’s batting unit, picking 4 wickets for just 22 runs.
The second match against New Zealand also saw the depth that Pakistan has in their batting line-up. Chasing a low-scoring 132-run, Pakistan had lost 5 wickets for 87 runs. 48 runs were still in 30 deliveries. Five out of their top-six batsmen went back to the pavilion, however, an unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership between Shoaib Malik and M Asif helped the team chase down the score in 18.4 overs.
Asif hit three massive sixes en-route to his 12-ball 27, while Malik too made a valuable contribution of 26 runs in 20 deliveries. Given how they have performed in the tournament thus far, beating them by any side isn’t going to be easy.
Facing them are Afghanistan, which began its Super 12 campaign with a massive 130-run win against Scotland. Significant contributions from the top four batsmen helped the team reach a daunting 190-run on a slow wicket.
Hazratullah Zazai (44 off 30) and Mohammad Shahzad (22 off 15) gave the team a brilliant start, while the likes of Gurbaz (46 off 37) and Najibullah (59 off 34) capitalized on that brilliantly. Afghanistan spinners were equally brilliant with the ball.
Mujeeb Ur-Rahman ran through the top-order as he picked 5 wickets for just 20 runs in four overs. Rashid Khan came in the attack after the power play and he didn’t take too long to showcase his class. In just 2.2 overs, he managed to pick four wickets for just 9 runs, helping the side bundle out Scotland for just 60. Ahead of their second game against Pakistan, Afghanistan would look to continue their winning run.
AFG vs PAK Head to Head Records: Afghanistan’s (AFG) H2H Record Against Pakistan (PAK)- ICC T20 World Cup 2021
Teams Head to Head Records: T20 Internationals
| Stats | Matches | Pak Win | AFG Won | N/R |
| Overall | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| At Dubai International Cricket Stadium | – | – | – | – |
| In the last 5 matches | 1 | 1 | 0 | – |
| In T20 World Cup | – | – | – | – |
Successful Head-to-Head Records in 1st Batting vs 2nd Batting:
| Innings | PAK won | AFGH won |
| First Batting | 1 | 0 |
| Second Batting | 0 | 0 |
Teams’ and Players’ Records in Head-to-Head Battles:
(Top players’ stats)
| Stats | SCO vs NAM | NAM vs SCO |
| Highest Individual Score | Ahmed Shahzad: 68 runs | Asghar Stanikzai: 47 |
| Best Batting Average | Ahmed Shahzad: 68 | Karim Sadiq: 28.00 |
| Most runs | Ahmed Shahzad: 68 runs | Asghar Stanikzai: 47 |
| Best economy rate | Wahab Riaz: 2 | Aftab Alam: 7.50 |
