Unews World
Pakistan decided to bat first after winning toss against Afghanistan in the final match of the T20I tri-series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Muqeem.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (c), Mohammad Nabi, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Head-to-head
Pakistan and Afghanistan have faced each other nine times in T20Is, with Pakistan holding a narrow lead with five wins, while Afghanistan have claimed four victories.
The two teams have played only one bilateral series in 2023, which Afghanistan won 2-1.
- Matches: 9
- Pakistan: 5
- Afghanistan: 4
Form Guide
Pakistan and Afghanistan enter the high-stakes fixture with contrasting momentum. The Green Shirts have lost only once in their last five completed T20Is, while Afghanistan have won three of their last three games.
The two sides also met in the opening match of the tri-series on Friday, which Pakistan won convincingly by 39 runs.
Batting first, Pakistan posted 182/7 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of skipper Salman Ali Agha’s brisk half-century. Agha top-scored with a 36-ball 53, laced with three fours and three sixes.
In reply, Afghanistan’s batting lineup managed only 143 runs before being bowled out in 19.5 overs. Skipper Rashid Khan top-scored with a blistering 39 off 16 deliveries.
However, when both sides met again in the series at the same venue, Afghanistan bounced back strongly to defeat Pakistan by 18 runs.
Batting first, Afghanistan posted 169/5 in 20 overs, with Ibrahim Zadran scoring 65 off 45 balls and Sediqullah Atal adding 64 off 45.
In response, Pakistan were restricted to 151/9. Haris Rauf’s late cameo of 34 off 16 balls was the highest score, while Fakhar Zaman and skipper Salman Ali Agha contributed 25 and 20 runs respectively.
Pakistan: W, L, W, W, W (Most Recent First)
Afghanistan: W, W, W, L, W
