The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 has entered a stage of the match where the teams placed in the middle of the points table can't afford to lose any more matches, specially against the teams ranked lower than them. In a similar situation, Pakistan is set to take on Afghanistan in a high-voltage encounter at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai coming out of back-to-back losses. Afghanistan, on the other hand had their sole victory against England but didn't carry the momentum with them in the next match against New Zealand. Pakistan will look desperately for a win to keep their semifinal window open while Afghanistan will be taking one step at a time. Fans Quarrel Over a Seat During Australia vs Pakistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Match at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Video Emerges.

Pakistan had back-to-back poor games against India and Australia. Batting faultered against India where they failed to set a competitive target and then in the match against Australia, they conceded too many and couldn't end up chasing them. Bowling has been their concern in this tournament, specially with Haris Rauf's form, Naseem Shah's absence and Shaheen Shah Afridi not being to scalp wickets upfront. Added to it, Babar Azam has failed to lead from the front and that has put him and the Pakistan team both under pressure. The match against Afghanistan might be their last opportunity to break out of it.

Afghanistan on the other hand have been inconsistent and too much dependent on Rahmanullah Gurbaz for giving start. They have failed to perform as a unit and looked as a more bits and pieces side. Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim Zadran, who were considered as batting mainstays ahead of the competition have to be better with the bat. In the conditions of Chennai, with runs in board, Afghan spinners and cutter-specialist seamers will come into play and might trouble the Pakistan batters.

Pakistan vs Afghanistan Head-to-Head in ODIs

There have been 7 ODI matches between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan  has won all 7 of them while Afghanistan won 0 games.

Pakistan vs Afghanistan ICC World Cup 2023 Key Players

Abdullah Shafique
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Rizwan
Rashid Khan
Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Pakistan vs Afghanistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Venue and Match Timing

Pakistan vs Afghanistan ICC World Cup 2023 match will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The PAK vs AFG match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will begin at 02:00 PM IST (Indian Standard Time). AUS vs PAK ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Police Keep Strict Controlling As Fans Barred From Displaying Provocative Posters or Shouting Slogans at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Pakistan vs Afghanistan ICC World Cup 2023 Live Streaming Online and Telecast

Star Sports is the official broadcast partner of the ICC World Cup 2023. Fans therefore can watch the Pakistan vs Afghanistan ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match on Star Sports 1/HD, Star Sports 2/HD, Star Sports 3, Star Sports 1 Hindi/HD, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Kannada and Star Sports 1 Telugu. Fans can also watch live streaming of this match online on the Disney+ Hotstar app and websites. Those using the Disney+ Hotstar app on mobiles to watch ICC World Cup 2023 matches can do so for free.

Pakistan vs Afghanistan ICC World Cup 2023 Likely XIs

Pakistan:  Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haque, Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan (Wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Hasan Alim Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ikram Alikhil (Wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 22, 2023 04:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).