Asia Cup is one of the grand events in world cricket. The best Asian cricket teams compete with each other for a grand battle between bat and ball. Moreover, the modern-era quality cricketers demonstrate their skillset on the field splendidly. In terms of the strength of the side, this tournament features the best competition among the sides.
Not only did the game between arch-rivals Pakistan and India grab the attention of cricket fans. But the games like Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh and Pakistan vs Afghanistan do also produce excitement and exhilaration as the matches between these sides are mouth-watering. Afghanistan vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 Super Four contest is going to be a cracker. Both teams comprise marvels who could change the scenario of the game with their astonishing batting and bowling performances.
The pre-match hype ahead of the contest is quite exciting. The political tensions gave rise to the quarrel between fans during the Afghanistan vs Pakistan Cricket World Cup 2019 contest. Hence, tension has escalated the hype of the game even more. By the way, which side do you think has the highest number of chances of winning the Asia Cup 2022? What do the odds suggest with the amount of fierce competition between the side? You could go to the best online cricket sportsbook sites in the UK to find out the numbers.
Afghanistan vs Pakistan: The Classic Nail-Biters
In the past, the Afghanistan vs Pakistan matches were astonishing and kept the fans on the edge of their seats. On many occasions, Afghanistan almost took victory away from Pakistan. However, Pakistan found itself winning the game handling the pressure extremely well. If we talk about the head-to-head record, both teams have faced each other two times. Pakistan defeated Afghanistan in spectacular contests both times.
T20 World Cup 2021
The T20 World Cup 2021 game is one of the best matches of T20 cricket, Afghanistan was cruising towards victory and it got the main batsmen of the Pakistan team out. The equation suggested that Pakistan required 24 runs off 12 balls against Afghanistan in the match. Captain Mohammad Nabi gave the ball to his fast bowler Karim Jannat. The hard hitter Asif Ali was on strike.
Then happened one of the astonishing scenes of cricket. Asif Ali smashed the bowler all around the park and hit four sixes in the second last over. In the final moments, Pakistan won the game against Afghanistan unbelievably. Games like these are exciting for the fans of the Afghanistan vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 encounter.
Cricket World Cup 2019
The occasion of the Cricket World Cup and rising tensions between the fans of both sides. Headingley witnessed one of the awful sights on the ground of cricket. The fans exchanged heated moments in the stands of the English stadium. In the cliffhanger, the Afghanistan bowling side sent half of the Pakistan batting side to the pavilion. The men in green still required 80+ runs to win the game.
With the game constantly going through toughness, the six from Wahab Riaz against Rashid Khan gave Pakistan command in the game. Pakistan won the game against Afghanistan in the last over, courtesy of the terrific knock from Imad Wasim. He scored 49 runs off 54 wins to guide Pakistan towards a phenomenal victory against Pakistan. We are waiting for a similar contest between both sides in the Afghanistan vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 match.
Super Four: Afghanistan vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022
Super Four is the critical stage of the tournament. It follows the round-robin format. It means all teams will play against each other once in this round.
The best two teams from Group A and Group B have qualified for the Super Four round. From Group B, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have qualified for the Super Four round. From Group A, India and Pakistan have qualified for the second round of the tournament.
Build-Up to Afghanistan vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022: Teams Record in First Round
Afghanistan could turn out to be a tremendous threat for Pakistan as the side has improved tremendously in recent times. In all departments of the game, Afghanistan is flourishing in Asia Cup 2022. In the first round of the tournament, not only did Afghanistan beaten Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, but defeated these sides comprehensively. It was the first team to qualify for the Super Four round.
On the other hand, Pakistan suffered a defeat against the arch-rivals India in the Group A contest. It has defeated Hong Kong to qualify for the Super Four round.
Pakistan is a wonderful T20 team that comprises fine T20 players on the side. It has the presence of two top T20 international batters on the side. While Pakistan lost the game against India on August 28, it showed a real fight with the astonishing fast bowlers in the side. If Pakistan rectifies its issues in the middle order, it would surely be a tough side for Afghanistan to defeat in the Asia Cup 2022 contest.
Best Contest: Babar Azam vs Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan is surely the best T20 leg-spinner of the modern era. The spectacular varieties of Rashid have always tested Babar Azam on the field. Babar is a great player of the spin-bowling. However, he has always struggled against Rashid in T20 cricket.
On all 5 occasions Rashid vs Babar happened, the Afghan spinner took the wicket of the number one T20 international batsman. Babar always looked frustrated against Rashid Khan and tried to take a charge against him. The Pakistan Super League and T20 World Cup 2021 contest between Rashid and Babar saw the batsman getting bowled while playing a sweep shot.
Babar Azam is a skilled textbook cricket player but he often has no answers against the class Babar Azam. We know the player of the Babar Azam caliber improves his weakness and come hard against the opponent next time. So this time Afghanistan vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 contest will provide a tremendous platform for Babar to show his command against the best bowler in the business. Could he play his classic cut shot against the masterclass top-spin of Rashid Khan? We would see that in the game!
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