Pakistan will face Afghanistan in the 1st One-day international match to be played at Hambantota on 22nd August 2023. It promises to be a good series between these two Asian teams and good preparation for both teams ahead of the Asia Cup starting on 30th August 2023.
Pakistan announced the squad for this series and the Asia Cup. Babar Azam-led side has a great record in the 50-over format winning all four of them. The previous match was held during the 2019 World Cup played in England and Wales where Pakistan won a closely fought match by 3 wickets.
Pakistan will play their first One-day international match since their 5 match ODI series at home against New Zealand in April-May 2023.
Match Details
Details– 1st ODI, Pakistan vs Afghanistan
Venue– Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
Date and Time– 22nd August, 3.00 PM IST
Pitch Report
The pitch at Hambantota helps the pacers initially and becomes a good batting pitch. Afghanistan will have the advantage of playing at this venue as they have three One-day international matches against Sri Lanka in June this year.
A total of 26 ODI matches have been played at this venue with the team batting first have won on 10 occasions while fielding first won 13 times. The average first-innings total in ODIs has been 249 while the average second-innings total is 196.
Sri Lanka posted the highest-ever total in One-day internationals at this venue with 368 for 4 in 50 overs against Pakistan during the 2015 series. Zimbabwe chased down 312 with the loss of only 2 wickets against host Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan (Afg)Â vs Pakistan (Pak) – Predicted Playing XI
Afghanistan
Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Asmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazallahq Farqooi, Noor Ahmed.
Pakistan
Fakhar Zaman, Imam UL Haq, Babar Azam (C), Agha Salman, Mohammed Rizwan (WK), Mohammed Nawaz, Shahbad Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah
Fantasy Team Selection – Afghanistan vs Pakistan
Team 1– Fakhar Zaman, Ibrahim Zadran, Babar Azam (C), Rahmat Shah, Mohammed Rizwan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammed Nawaz, Rashid Khan (VC), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Noor Ahmed
Team 2– Imam UL Haq, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (C), Babar Azam, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Agha Salman, Najibullah Zadran, Shahbad Khan, Mohammad Nabi (VC), Haris Rauf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naseem Shah
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