ICC World Cup 2019: Match 36, Pakistan vs Afghanistan: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

When Afghanistan defeated Pakistan in the warm-up game, many felt that they will upset a couple of teams in the tournament proper. But Gulbadin Naib’s men haven’t been able to replicate the same kind of show in the World Cup and are staring down the barrel. They have shown fight on occasions but Afghanistan haven’t won a game so far in this edition. However, facing Pakistan in Leeds will give them a hope of repeating the heroics in the warm-up game again.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have raised their game at the right time and rather are looking the favourites to make it to the top four. Having said that, they cannot afford to take things for granted, especially against a team like Afghanistan that has nothing to lose now. Another win, however, will take on the Men in Green ahead of the hosts England in the points table at the fourth position.

Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mickey Arthur would love to see the same set of players taking the park who have done the job for them in the last two matches. For Afghanistan, Sayed Shirzad, who replaced Aftab Alam in the squad, might replace Dawlat Zadran in the line-up.

Match Details

The 36th match of the ICC World Cup 2019 will be played between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Headingley in Leeds.

The match starts at 10:30 AM local time (09:30 AM GMT) (3:00 PM IST).

The game will be live on Star Sports. Live streaming available on Hotstar.

Weather Report

There will be no rain in Leeds during the match. It will be sunny for the whole day. The temperature, probably for the first time will be in the high 20s and will hover around 25-28 degrees Celsius according to AccuWeather.

Pitch Report

The pitch used for England-Sri Lanka match was extremely slow and thus the Islanders managed to defend 232 runs. If the similar surface is on offer, Afghanistan’s spin trio would love to bowl and tie up the batsmen. To avoid the chasing pressure, the team winning the toss will be hoping to bat first and then defend the total.

Average first innings score: 326 (Last four completed One-Day matches at the venue)

Record of the chasing teams: Won – 0; Lost – 3; Tie – 1

Playing XIs

Pakistan

Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (C & wk), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi.

Bench – Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hasnain, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali.

Afghanistan

Gulbadin Naib (C), Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shinwari, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran/Sayed Shirzad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Bench – Dawlat Zadran/Sayed Shirzad, Hazratullah Zazai, Noor Ali Zadran, Hamid Hassan.

Team News

Aftab Alam has been ruled out of the World Cup due to exceptional circumstances and Sayed Shirzad is his replacement.

Power Picks

Babar Azam in 2019 ODIs:

Innings: 16

Runs: 805

Average: 57.5

100s: 2

50s: 5

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain Options: Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Gulbadin Naib.

Vice-Captain Options: Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah.

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Wicket-Keeper – Sarfaraz Ahmed

Batsmen – Rahmat Shah, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam (C), Imam-ul-Haq

All-Rounders – Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib (VC)

Bowlers – Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi.

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Grand/Mega Leagues:

Wicket-Keeper – Sarfaraz Ahmed

Batsmen – Hashmatullah Shahidi, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman (C)

All-Rounders – Mohammad Nabi (VC), Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Hafeez

Bowlers – Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Afridi.

Expert Advice:

Prefer having the Afghanistan spin trio in your team as the pitch might be on the slower side.

Wahab Riaz did well against the same opposition in the warm-up match and could be lethal again.

Probable Winners:

Pakistan are expected to win the match.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.