Pakistan should bat first if they win toss against Afghanistan: Inzamam

 

Pakistan will face Afghanistan today at the Dubai International Stadium, with both teams looking to qualify for the semi-finals of the mega event

DUBAI, OCT 29: Legendary Pakistan batter Inzamamul Haq believes that Pakistan should bat first if they win the toss against Afghanistan, during today’s T20 World Cup match.

While speaking on his official YouTube channel, Inzamam said that Pakistan bowlers should have adequate match practice about defending targets with dew around.

“This is Pakistan’s third tough match in the group stage but there won’t be any such matches after this as they play Namibia and Scotland. I think if Pakistan win the toss, they should bat first and test their batting strength and then ask the bowlers to defend the target. There is dew in the second half of the match and our bowlers should have the practice to bowl in such conditions,” said Inzamam.

“This will help us if we face such a scenario in the semi-finals,” he added.

Pakistan will face Afghanistan today at the Dubai International Stadium, with both teams looking to qualify for the semi-finals of the mega event.

He also suggested that Pakistan should try their bench strength in the matches against Namibia and Scotland. “I think we will continue with the same team combination for the Afghanistan match. Although, if we win, which I’m confident we will, we should test our bench strength in the remaining matches so that other players get an opportunity as well. This will help us if we need injury replacements in important matches,” he concluded. 

--------------------------------------------------

Courtesy cricketpakistan

-------------------------

T20 WORLD CUP: Rashid pleads for peaceful Afghanistan, Pakistan clash after 2019 violence

 

• Friday's game in Dubai could be tense as both teams are undefeated and chasing semi-final places

DUBAI, OCT 29: Rashid Khan has pleaded with Afghanistan and Pakistan fans to behave when the two neighbours meet in the T20 World Cup on Friday after a match in England two years ago was scarred by fighting and a pitch invasion.

Afghanistan's star spinner Rashid played in that 50-over World Cup game at a packed Headingley in Leeds in 2019.

His side suffered an agonising defeat but the result was overshadowed by violence and scuffles inside and outside the stadium.

Players needed security escorts off the pitch as fans poured out of the terraces.

Friday's game in Dubai could be tense as both teams are undefeated and chasing semi-final places.

A weekend capacity crowd is expected from amongst the huge expatriate population of both nations who live and work in the Gulf.

"Definitely it's always a good game against Pakistan, but this should remain as a game," Rashid said Thursday.

"I request all the fans to stay cool and calm and just enjoy the game. What happened in the 2019 match should not have happened."

Rashid claimed four wickets and fellow spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman took five as Afghanistan started their T20 World Cup in style, bowling out Scotland for just 60 in reply to their mammoth 190-4.

However, the Afghanistan team came into the tournament under the threat of a ban due to the ruling Taliban government's hardline stance on women's sport.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) -- which makes it mandatory for all member countries to have men's and women's teams -- said it has been monitoring the situation and will discuss the matter in its meeting in Dubai next month.

Afghanistan cricket chief Azizullah Fazli told AFP at the start of the tournament: "Our government is streamlining things and women's cricket will also be streamlined."

Rashid said that the squad is trying just to focus on the tournament.

"We have only the World Cup in mind, we're playing five games and we need to win three games," said the 23-year-old.

"We don't think about what's happening. We don't think about what happened in the past. That is something which is not in our hands, it is not in our control.

"We shouldn't think about it, we don't want extra pressure on us. As a team, we're just focusing on this World Cup to get better and better."

Afghanistan smashed 11 sixes and 13 boundaries in their rout of Scotland in Sharjah.

But Rashid said hitting aggressive shots is not the team's only objective.

"To be honest, we don't have that kind of mindset, like, you have to focus on hitting so many sixes," he said.

"But you have to adjust yourself with the wicket.

"I think we need to play good cricket. It's not about getting too many sixes. These grounds are very hard to hit sixes. The wickets are not as good to hit the sixes."

-------------------------------------------------------

Courtesy cricketpakistan

---------------------

Saqlain issues Afghanistan warning as Pakistan gear up for T20 World Cup clash

 

• After winning high-profile matches, stakes will be relatively lower when they meet Afghanistan but Saqlain said there were no rooms for complacency

DUBAI, OCT 28: Pakistan have kick-started their Twenty20 World Cup campaign by winning both their grudge matches but coach Saqlain Mushtaq insists they cannot afford to lower their guard against a "fearless" Afghanistan in Friday's Super 12 contest.

The 2009 champions began with a 10-wicket romp against arch-rivals India, also their first ever win against their neighbours in a World Cup.

A highly charged-up Pakistan beat New Zealand by five wickets in their next match, which was played against the backdrop of bad blood between the sides.

Angered by New Zealand's abrupt cancellation of a limited-overs tour of Pakistan last month over security apprehensions, Pakistan players were motivated to make a point in the contest.

After those high-profile matches, stakes will be relatively lower when they meet Afghanistan but Saqlain said there were no rooms for complacency.

"The boys put their heart and soul in the first two matches," Saqlain, who took over as the interim head coach just before the tournament, told reporters on Thursday.

"The confidence and the self-belief we got from those two matches, we have to take it forward.

"Regardless of who we face, whether it's Afghanistan or any other team, we need to play that brand of cricket and execute our plans with that mindset.

"If we can't do that, it would come back to bite us."

Afghanistan thumped Scotland by 130 runs in their opener and will rely on their formidable three-pronged spin attack to try and pull off an upset against Pakistan.

"It's a strong unit. We can't really say 'that's very easy and you will roll over them'," former test spinner Saqlain said.

"They have a wonderful bowling attack, especially the spinners, and they bat the way they feel like.

"They just play sort of a fearless cricket. I think that kind of team can be dangerous.

"World Cup, it's a mega-event. You play all the teams with the same intensity, with the same attitude, with the same mindset..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Courtesy cricketpakistan

--------------------------------

T20 WORLD CUP: Indian state threatens sedition charges for celebrations of Pakistan cricket win

 

• Pakistan resoundingly beat India at the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday, for its first cricket win against its bigger neighbour in such a match, triggering celebrations at home and in Muslim-majority Kashmir

DUBAI, OCT 28: People in India's most populous state who praise arch rival Pakistan's victory in a recent cricket match could face sedition charges, authorities said on Thursday, a day after arresting three college students over jubilant social media posts.

Similar celebrations have roused the ire of Indian politicians in the past, as the nuclear-armed neighbours are at loggerheads over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

Pakistan resoundingly beat India at the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday, for its first cricket win against its bigger neighbour in such a match, triggering celebrations at home and in Muslim-majority Kashmir.

"Those celebrating Pakistan's victory will face sedition," the office of Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh, said on Twitter, with an accompanying screenshot of a news report.

The offence, if proved, carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Adityanath's office had ordered state police to take action depending on the circumstances of each case, said state information official Navneet Sehgal, adding that police would decide on the charges based on their investigations.

Posts on social media hailing Sunday's victory by Pakistan were made by three Kashmiri students at a college in the state's city of Agra, according to a police complaint on Tuesday that was reviewed by Reuters.

The three were arrested late on Wednesday, said city police official Saurabh Singh, on charges of promoting enmity between different groups and causing public alarms.

In the restive Kashmir valley, where some resident chafe at Indian control, authorities said police had received complaints over celebrations at two medical colleges after Pakistan's victory.

Authorities said six people had been detained in adjoining Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir (IIOK), where social media posts showed more than two dozen people celebrating after India's loss.

"The investigation is going on," said local official Anuradha Gupta.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Courtesy cricketpakistan

-------------------------

ICC WORLD T20: Aakash Chopra praises 'very special' Pakistan team

 

DUBAI, OCT 28: Former Indian batter-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has praised the Pakistan cricket team and labeled them as a "very special" T20 unit.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash discussed elements that make Pakistan a dangerous side to face in the shortest format of the game.

"Pakistan are producing top-quality T20 cricketers; the way these players play, it seems as if T20 cricket subsides in their DNA," Chopra said in a segment on his show called Super Over.

He credited tape-ball cricket which has contributed to Pakistani bowlers' development since their childhoods.

"Since a lot of tape-ball cricket is played in Pakistan, it helps them a lot as Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Shahnawaz Dahani all played lots of tape-ball from a young age. Most Pakistani bowlers have quick-arm actions and the batters do not shy away from hitting big because of the tape-ball cricket culture in the country," he said.

“T20 format is typically dominated by the team which has a good bowling attack and Pakistan always had, always have, and always will have a fierce bowling attack. Not only that, but they also have sheer quality in their batting department as well," the 44-year-old added.

Aakash later praised how Pakistani batters adjust between the longest and shortest format of the game, citing examples of Babar Azam and Azhar Ali.

"Pakistani batters have always approached Test cricket differently and their transition between different formats is brilliant; just look at the likes of Babar Azam, Azhar Ali, and such," Aakash further stated.

In the following part of his Super Over segment, Aakash Chopra talked about Shaheen Shah Afridi having the potential to get wickets of the best players around the globe.

"Shaheen forces batsmen to play his deliveries with a squared stance, which opens up the opportunity for him to swing the ball back into the right-arm batters. His two deliveries against Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were worth watching," he concluded.

------------------------------------------------------

Courtesy cricketpakistan

-------------------------------