The two Asian neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan would look to test themselves hard as the countdown to the Asia Cup has already begun. The two teams will play against each other in three ODIs, the first of those three will be played on Tuesday, August 22 at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota.
Both teams have enough time to experiment and zero down on their combination ahead of the World Cup as there are very few games remaining leading into the marquee tournament. Afghanistan have been playing excellent cricket in the ODI format lately. They are coming into the series on the back of a 2-1 win over Bangladesh and had given Sri Lanka a run for their money in a three-match ODI series that they had played earlier in the island nation.
Pakistan are also coming into the series on the back of an impressive series win over New Zealand at home (in ODIs). Hence, they'll also fancy their chances ahead of the series. However, wickets in Sri Lanka might turn out to be more spin-friendly as compared to what Pakistan are used to playing at home, therefore, the Afghan spinners might come into play.
Afghanistan vs Pakistan 1st ODI Pitch Report
The first fixture of the three-match ODI series between the two countries will be played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota and the second ODI too will be played at the same venue. The 3rd ODI will be organised at the R Premadasa in Colombo.
Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota Numbers Game
Total T20I Matches - 26
Matches won batting first - 10
Matches won bowling first - 13
Average first innings score - 249
Average second innings score - 196
The wicket in Hambantota is considered spin-friendly and it will bring spinners from both teams into play. Afghanistan will rely heavily on the spin duo of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman. On the other hand, Pakistan will have Shadab Khan to bank upon and expect him to make the most out of the conditions on offer.
Pakistan Squad:
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Usama Mir, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Agha Salman
Afghanistan Squad:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Ikram Alikhil, Wafadar Momand, Abdul Rahman, Riaz Hassan, Noor Ahmad
