Afghanistan is set to square off against Pakistan today at 2:00 p.m. local time at Fatullah Osmani Stadium in Narayanganj, Bangladesh. This 2014 Asia Cup match against Pakistan, who are coming off a 12-run loss to Sri Lanka in their last ODI. This will be Afghanistan's first since October of 2013. Live stream the game free by simply clicking this link.
Pakistan fared well against a tough Sri Lankan squad, despite not getting monster performances from anyone on the team. Misbah-ul-Haq bowled well and Umar Akmal provided ample support, but not a single Pakistani was able to pass 30.
The last time these two sides faced off was in February of 2012, when the Pakistanis escaped with a victory by seven wickets. To win today, the Afghans will need to curb their emotions and avoid silly errors that plagued them in the last go-round. Their bowlers will play a key role, but the conditions figure to be leaning in the batsmen's favor.
While Afghanistan will obviously be playing to win, their presence is an accomplishment. Skipper Mohammad Nabi will be captaining in one of the biggest moments in his career, while has an opportunity to prove his 50 off of 48 against Kenya was no fluke. The Pakistani bowlers are hard to handle, but Nabi is the key to the equation.
"Rahmat Shah, Azghar (Stanikzai), Gulbadin Naib, (Mohammad) Shahzad, Shapoor (Zadran), maybe half the team has played in Bangladesh and this is a good experience for them and for Afghanistan," Nabi said.
"We will try our best against every team. There is no target. We will play good cricket and when the time comes we will win."
For Pakistan, youngster Bilawal Bhatti will be one to keep an eye on, even as a bottom of the order bat. All around, the Afghan team is young and raw, but also talented. Pakistan is favored, but should not take the Afghan threat lightly.
Squads
Pakistan
Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad,Sharjeel Khan, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, FawadAlam, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Anwar Ali,Bilawal Bhatti, Mohammad Talha
Afghanistan
Mohammad Nabi (capt), Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, DawlatZadran, Fazal Niazai, Hamid Hassan, Hamza Hotak, Karim Sadiq,Mirwais Ashraf, Mohammad Shahzad, Najibullah Zadran, Noor AliZadran, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shenwari, Shapoor Zadran.
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