Pakistan VS Afghanistan: Babar Azam bats first after winning toss
Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, won the toss against Afghanistan on Monday and decided to bat first in the 22nd match of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023. The game is being held at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, which is where the famous left-handed opener Saeed Anwar hit a huge 194 against India in 1997.
Pakistan is fifth in the points table after four games. They have won two and lost three. Pakistan had a few tough games after starting the tournament with big wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. Those wins set a record for the most successful chase in the history of the event.
When Pakistan won the toss today, the captain said that they had made one change: Shadab Khan had been added to the starting XI in place of Mohammad Nawaz, who has a fever. As per ESPNCricinfo, the game is being played on pitch No. 5, which was also used for the game between India and Australia.
“It’s a black-soil surface – and not the mix of red and black – so Afghanistan have understandably packed their side with four spinners in Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmad.”
Playing XI
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel. Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai. Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad.
