Afghanistan will be up against Scotland who have topped their group in first round of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on Monday, October 25 at Sharjah. Afghanistan lost first of their two warmup games to South Africa but came back nicely beating WI comprehensively by 56 runs.
Scotland on the other hand, won all their three games against Bangladesh, PNG and Oman respectively in the first round to join Afghanistan, India, Namibia, New Zealand and Pakistan in Group 2 of the super 12s round of the event.
Based on the ICC’s T20Is Team Rankings, Afghanistan is placed 8th while Scotland is far behind on 14th through which Afghanistan can be called favorites for the game. Afghanistan have won their last three T20 series against West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe, while Scotland have also won 4 off their last 5 T20Is that they have played.
On the recent form, Afghanistan have lost one and won one among their two warmup games while Scotland, not only have won their two warmups but have gone through other three teams as well and won all three of their matches. So, Scotland is in a real hot form, but it will be surely a different ball game when they meet Afghanistan on Monday.
Afghanistan’s top three batters are in a good shape while Mohammad Nabi and Najeebullah were also among the runs during the two warm up games. The bowling unit is phenomenal with Rashid leading the spin bowling department and the likes of Mujeeb UR Rehman and Mohammad Nabi to follow him and spin the web around the batsmen. But still a little concern remains for them as they will be looking to get away with the fast-bowling options they have got.
From the Scotland perspective, they will be looking for some runs from their top two, the middle order is doing okay while the fast bowlers have done a great job, the spinners were also on top of their game and the fielding was of high class. Overall, they are a decent team with a very promising bunch of players, but they will be looking to do their level best when they face Afghanistan.
Dawlat Khan Ahmadzai, the current junior head coach of Afghanistan Cricket Board, was asked about Afghanistan’s chances for the match against Scotland on Oct 21. He said that Afghanistan must not take their oppositions lightly and must start strongly. “Every player must enter the game with a specific plan in mind and must know their roles in the game”. He told ACB Media.
Ahmadzai further added that team management must observe all the weaknesses of the opposite team and according to that the playing XI must be selected. He said: “Afghan players must play according to their strength and the style of cricket that the we have played over the last few years in the format”. He further noted that winning the first game is very essential for Afghanistan as it will help them to put a sort of psychological pressure on the other teams in the group.
Afghanistan have won their last game against Scotland by 14 runs in Nagpur on March 08 2016, the Monday’s encounter will be the first time since then that both teams meet in a T20I game. The match will begin on 6:00 pm local time on Monday Oct. 25, 2021 in Sharjah.
