3 reasons why Pakistan can beat Afghanistan in Chennai 

Pakistan has not found their momentum in this World Cup so far. Their consecutive defeats against India and Australia have forced them to go back to the drawing board. They would be facing another stiff challenge against Afghanistan in Chennai. But the Pakistan side would be hoping for a strong comeback as they are still in contention to qualify for the semi-finals. Let’s take a look at 3 reasons why Pakistan can beat Afghanistan in Chennai.   

Opening pair back in form

Imam-Ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique batted brilliantly against Australia to get Pakistan off to a great start. Pakistan was chasing a mammoth total at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru but the openers kept the hopes alive in that run chase. Both the openers scored a half-century and assured the team management that they could stand up when needed. Imam was in poor form coming into this match but his knock against Australia must have given him a lot of confidence and that confidence would be very important against Afghanistan’s bowling attack. Abdullah Shafique also played a wonderful innings and these two openers would play a significant role against Afghanistan.

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Shaheen Shahid Afridi was drawing a lot of criticism for his poor performances in the World Cup so far but he changed that perception with his fantastic fifer against Australia. On a scary pitch for the bowler, Afridi showed his class with a few quick dismissals to restrict Australia below 400 after they got a brilliant stat. This outing would make Shaheen feel a lot more confident about his skills and Pakistan needs a confident Shaheen Shah Afridi. Now that Afridi is back amongst wickets Afghanistan should be wary of this challenge. 

Afghanistan’s middle order

Afghanistan’s shaky middle order has been a big cause of concern for them. They rely heavily on openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. These two openers have played satisfactorily well so far in the tournament but they have not been complemented by the rest of the batting order and Pakistan can take advantage of this. Pakistan’s bowling has always been their strength and in this contest, they would be relying once again on their bowling to come good against a resilient Afghan side.