Asia Cup 2018: Super Four, Match 2, Match Prediction - Who will win the match, Pakistan or Afghanistan?

Not many expected Pakistan to succumb to India in such a horrendous way, but their aspiration to win the Asia Cup will still remain very high. They are known to play in an unpredictable way and next up in their campaign is the very exuberant Afghanistan side, who are looking in destructive form as it stands.

Afghanistan’s win against Sri Lanka announced their arrival on the biggest stage and clearly, they are one of the favorites to win the trophy. They have transcended from being minnows to dark horses and a win against Pakistan would send warning bells all across the globe.

Sarfraz Ahmed and his troops will be eager to sabotage the Afghan mission, especially after their horrendous fall out against India. On paper, they should be defeating their opponents 9 out of 10 times, but the spirit Afghanistan carry is a tough thing to deal with.

Pitch

Abu Dhabi has provided some amazing low-scoring thrillers over the years and with the pitch being on the slower side and both teams having some outstanding bowlers, anything over 250 for the side batting first will be almost impregnable.

Playing Combinations

Pakistan

They certainly enter the contest as the strongest of both sides. The in-form pair of Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman will continue in their opening position with Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Asif Ali and Shadab Khan coming in the middle order.

Mohammad Amir might not be featuring in this game after a string of poor performances and Junaid Khan might be replacing him in the eleven. Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf are the other bowling options for the Pakistani skipper.

Predicted XI

Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (C & wk), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan

Afghanistan

After resting some important players, Afghanistan will play their A-side for this encounter. Mohammad Shahzad and Ihsanullah Janat will take guard to initiate the innings for the Afghans. Coming in at number three will be the in-form Rahmat Shah with Asghar Afghan, Hasmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi following him.

Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will shoulder the burden of this bowling attack. The Pakistani batsmen will have a torrid time attempting to survive through their 20 overs. Gulabadin Naib, Aftab Alam, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi are the other bowling options for the skipper Asghar Afghan.

Predicted XI

Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan (C), Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Probable Top Performers

Shadab Khan – Pakistan | Rahmat Shah – Afghanistan

The prediction is for the team batting first to pip the other side in a low-scoring thriller.