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Match Details
Date: November 2, 2021
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Preview: An unbeaten Pakistan face Namibia in the 31st match of the ongoing T20 World Cup. While advancing to the semi-final seems an uphill task for a team like Namibia, especially with sides like New Zealand and Afghanistan in true contention, the Men in Green need just one more victory to finish the league stage at the table top, the position they are at currently.
Pakistan have already defeated India, New Zealand and Afghanistan, while Namibia's only victory in the tournament proper has come against Scotland. Given the red-hot form the Green Brigade is going through, Namibia have to play out of their skin to even pose a threat to Pakistan.
Head-to-head: The game on Tuesday will be the first T20I match between the sides.
Pitch Report: The surface of Sheikh Zayed Stadium has clearly been a bowling paradise as the sluggish pitch hardly offers any help to the batters. However, majority of the games on the pitch have been won by the teams batting second. So, it is clear that chasing is comparatively easier on the pitch and the team winning the toss would like to bowl first.
Team Analysis
Pakistan: They are one of the most complete sides of the ongoing T20 World Cup. The opening looks settled with experience at middle and lower middle-order. However, if there is anything that would be worrying them, it is the form of pacer Hasan Ali. Even while picking some wickets in the three games, he has gone for too many runs. Haris Rauf too would be looking for a better performance from himself in this game and Mohammad Rizwan, on the other, would be raring to go and play a handsome knock.
Namibia: The side needs a better performance from its star all-rounder David Wiese. Meanwhile, Ruben Trumpelmann has been impressive but he still needs to improve his line and length as the batter against Pakistan are surely going to cash in on any opportunity thrown to them.
Squads
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Nawaz, Haider Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jr
Namibia: Craig Williams, Michael van Lingen, Zane Green (wk), Gerhard Erasmus (c), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Pikky Ya France, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz, Karl Birkenstock, Ben Shikongo, Michau du Preez, Stephan Baard
Match Prediction:
Conclusion: Pakistan are the clear favourites to win the game. They have more experienced and world-class players in comparison to Namibia's and the form that the Green Brigade are going through, it hardly feels that Namibia will get any chance to have an edge over their opponents.
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.