In a World Cup match in Chennai on Monday, Pakistan faces a crucial situation. After losing two consecutive matches to India and Australia, they must win this game to keep their hopes alive for a spot in the semifinals. Currently, they are in fifth place with four points from four matches, but their negative net run rate is a concern and needs improvement. Pakistan’s main challenge is their struggle against spin bowlers, as seen when they lost wickets to Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa in Bengaluru.

Afghanistan has a strong spin bowling lineup with Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who can be a threat, especially on a pitch that favors spin. Pakistan needs better performances from their batsmen, especially from Babar Azam, who has not performed well in the tournament. Mohammad Rizwan has been the standout batsman for Pakistan with 294 runs, but the rest of the middle-order batsmen like Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed need to step up.

Pakistan’s bowling has also been a concern, with their pacers struggling to make an impact. Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi showed some promise with a five-wicket haul against Australia, but Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali have yet to adapt to bowling in the Power Play.

Pakistan’s spinners have also failed to deliver, with Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, and Usama Mir unable to take wickets or control the run rate. This has been a major reason for Pakistan’s struggles in the middle overs.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, has not had consistent performances from their batsmen, except for opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz. While players like Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Hashmatullah Shahidi have shown flashes of brilliance, they need to be more consistent.

In addition to the cricketing aspects, the Pakistan vs. Afghanistan rivalry has developed some tension in recent years. If both teams rise to the occasion, we could witness a classic match.

Here are the team line-ups for the game:

Afghanistan:

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Riaz Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, Naveen ul Haq, Abdul Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Pakistan:

Babar Azam (c), Haris Rauf,Shadab Khan, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Wasim, Usama Mir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi,Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz.