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Match Details
Date: October 25, 2021
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Preview: Afghanistan and Scotland face each other in the 16th match of the T20 World Cup 2021 on Monday. While this will be the first official game for Mohammad Nabi and company at the ongoing mega event, Scotland have already played 3 games in Round 1 to advance to the tournament proper.
Head-to-Head:
Pitch Report: The pitch at Sharjah Cricket Stadium has been decent so far with help to both the bowlers and batters. However, the small dimensions of the ground and the dew factor also playing a big role in the night games suggest that chasing would be a prudent choice.
Team Analysis:
Afghanistan: It is worth noting that the Mohammad Nabi-led side qualified for the main event of the T20 World Cup directly on the basis of ranking. Though they lost to South Africa in their warm-up game, they successfully handed a 56-run defeat to West Indies. New skipper Mohammad Nabi seems to have comfortably settled in the role and has been impressive with his all-round performance. Meanwhile, Rashid Khan has always been a bankable player of the side and his performance will play a huge role in deciding the fate of the game. With Mujeeb Ur Rahman joining the two, Afghanistan look very strong side in the spin department.
Scotland: The side is coming on 3 back-to-back victories, including a thrilling win over Bangladesh. Scotland's all-round performance has been the key to their success so far. The form of their openers George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer in the first two games was a bit of concern, however, both of them got some runs in the final game of Round 1 to get into the next stage with added confidence. Talking about their bowling, Josh Davey has been leading the pack with 8 wickets in 3 games, while Safyaan Sharif and Michael Leask have also been impressive.
Squads:
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan, Fareed Ahmad
Scotland: George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer (c), Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Josh Davey, Safyaan Sharif, Bradley Wheal, Alasdair Evans, Dylan Budge, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace
Conclusion: Given the utmost dominance and the experience Afghanistan enjoy over Scotland, they are the clear favourites to win this game.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author's personal point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.