PAK vs AFG 4th Super Four Match Prediction

PAK vs AFG Team Previews

Pakistan

Pakistan won a last-over thriller against India in a performance that would have given it a lot of pleasure. There are some tough questions to be answered, though. Babar Azam has been without runs and his record against Rashid Khan is not good either. He will be under pressure. Also, the Pakistani run rate in the powerplay and the first 10 overs, in general, has come under the scanner. 

Fakhar Zaman is tremendous against spin but his ability to protect his wicket is poor. Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, and Asif Ali are proving their finishing abilities but are they being denied the chance to make an even bigger impact by the top order? Pakistan's batting is still a work in progress. 

Pakistan's bowling was very good against India. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf were punished but they came back strongly at the death. Also, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan were hard to score off during the middle. Pakistan is unlikely to make any changes for this match.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan would itself be a bit surprised at losing its match against Sri Lanka. Rahmanullah Gurbaz dominated the inning with 84 from just 45 deliveries but did not get much support. Also, the big finish that was needed never came and as a result, Afghanistan was left perhaps 15-20 runs short of what it looked like getting. 

The dependence of the team on Rahmanullah Gurbaz is quite obvious. Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran are also promising but this lineup is up against a world-class bowling attack that will exploit any weakness that it can find. 

The bowling lineup for Afghanistan is spin-heavy. Everyone and their uncles know that Mujeeb will bowl in the powerplay, Nabi in the middle third, and Rashid at all possible crucial junctures. We saw how Sri Lanka attacked the Afghan spinners and put them under pressure. Pakistan also has the capability to do so. 

The key might be the young left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi with the new ball and Naveen-ul Haq at the death.