ICC World Cup 2023: Pakistan vs Afghanistan preview & prediction

Pakistan will hope to get their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign back on track when they square off with Afghanistan on Monday. 

After a positive start, the Green Shirts have now lost two matches on the trot. 

Meanwhile, Afghanistan are languishing at the bottom of the World Cup standings after winning just one of their four matches. 

Match Preview 

Pakistan suffered a disappointing 62 runs defeat at the hands of Australia on Friday. 

David Warner and Mitchell Marsh were in top form as both batsmen hit brilliant centuries, helping the Aussies to reach a mammoth 367 total. 

In response, the Green Shirts were all bowled out for 305, despite a brilliant 134 opening stand between Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq. 

Babar Azam was expected to be an important batsman but the skipper has failed to shine in the tournament so far. 

The 29-year-old played a decent knock against India but was dismissed early against Australia at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.  

Apart from Shaheen Shan Afridi, the Pakistani bowlers have also failed to impress. Harif Rauf claimed three scalps last time out but he also conceded an incredible 83 runs in his eight overs. 

Usama Mir, who replaced Shabad Khan, also proved quite expensive as he had an economy rate of 9.11 against Australia. 

They will now go head-to-head with Afghanistan on Monday, hoping to return to winning ways. 

The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side stunned England last week by defeating them by an incredible 69 runs. 

Mujeeb Ur Rahman won the Player of the Match award after he impressed both with the bowl and the bat. 

The defending champions were bowled out for 215 while chasing the target of 285. 

However, Afghanistan couldn’t pull off another such feat when they faced New Zealand on Wednesday. 

The Kiwis defeated their opponents by an incredible 149 runs to maintain their perfect start to the ICC World Cup 2023. 

Three of their batsmen scored half-centuries as the Black Caps posted 288 on the board in 50 overs. 

A spectacular batting collapse from Afghanistan saw the whole team perish on 139. 

Pakistan vs Afghanistan predicted playing XI

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, and Haris Rauf

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

How to Watch? 

Fans can watch the New Zealand vs Afghanistan match, as well as all other games of the ICC World Cup 2023, via cricket streaming sites. 

Pakistan vs Afghanistan prediction

Pakistan have been far from convincing in the ongoing World Cup in India. However, the quality in their ranks is unquestioned and so we are backing them for victory on Monday against Afghanistan.