Afghanistan
have
proven
that
they
are
not
a
team
to
be
taken
lightly.
They
are
armed
with
a
world-class
spin
attack
comprising
the
likes
of
Rashid
Khan,
who
has
perfected
his
craft
while
playing
in
various
T20
leagues
around
the
world,
Mujeeb
Ur
Rahman
and
skipper
Mohammad
Nabi.
The
formidable
spin
attack’s
prowess
has
been
on
full
display
in
their
first
two
matches.
While
they
completely
bamboozled
Scotland
in
their
tournament
opener
victory,
they
pushed
an
in-form
Pakistan
side
to
the
brink
on
Friday.
Backing
their
spinners
are
the
Afghan
batters,
who
are
playing
a
fearless
brand
of
cricket
reminiscent
of
the
big-hitting
West
Indies
side.
Afghanistan
went
all
guns
blazing
against
a
strong
Pakistan
bowling
attack.
Although
they
lost
wickets
at
regular
intervals,
Nabi
and
Gulbadin
Naib
added
71
in
the
last
45
balls
to
post
a
challenging
total.
Had
they
added
20
runs
more
to
their
total,
it
would
have
been
difficult
for
Pakistan
to
chase.
Captain
Nabi
has
asserted
that
the
team’s
morale
is
high
going
into
their
third
fixture
despite
the
five-wicket
loss
to
Pakistan.
“We
have
only
played
two
games
and
we
won
one
(against
Scotland)
and
today
was
a
close
game,
at
the
end
Pakistan
won
the
game.
“There
are
a
lot
of
positive
things
in
this
game,
we
will
take
the
positive
things
and
there
are
three
more
games.
Inshallah
we
will
do
well,
the
team
morale
is
high,”
he
said.
Namibia,
on
the
other
hand,
will
hope
to
continue
their
historic
run.
The
country
which
has
a
population
of
2.5
million
and
only
five
cricket
pitches
has
surprised
everyone
in
the
tournament.
After
handing
defeats
to
Netherlands
and
Ireland
in
the
qualifiers,
the
team
has
managed
to
script
a
memorable
win
over
Scotland
in
their
first
Super
12
game.
While
their
bowlers
did
a
good
job
to
restrict
Scotland
to
109,
their
batters
had
to
dig
deep
to
chase
the
target.
But
if
Namibia
wish
to
keep
rubbing
shoulders
with
the
top
teams,
they
need
to
lift
their
level,
and
skipper
Gerhard
Erasmus
is
well
aware
of
it.
“From
here
on
we
have
to
lift
our
level.
We
are
excited
for
the
challenge.
Hopefully
we
can
execute
on
those
days,”
Erasmus
had
said
after
the
match
against
Scotland.
Namibia’s
best
shot
is
by
putting
runs
on
the
board
and
capitalise
on
Afghanistan’s
relatively
poor
pace
attack.
They
also
hold
the
advantage
of
being
familiar
with
the
conditions,
having
played
three
games
here.
Teams
(from):
Afghanistan:
Rashid
Khan,
Rahmanullah
Gurbaz,
Hazratullah
Zazai,
Usman
Ghani,
Asghar
Afghan,
Mohammad
Nabi
(c),
Najibullah
Zadran,
Hashmatullah
Shahidi,
Mohammad
Shahzad,
Mujeeb
Ur
Rahman,
Karim
Janat,
Gulbadin
Naib,
Naveen-ul-Haq,
Hamid
Hassan,
Fareed
Ahmad.
Namibia:
Gerhard
Erasmus
(c),
Stephen
Baard,
Karl
Birkenstock.
Michau
du
Preez,
Jan
Frylinck,
Zane
Green,
Nicol
Lofie-Eaton,
Bernard
Scholtz,
Ben
Shikongo,
JJ
Smit,
Ruben
Trumpelmann,
Michael
van
Lingen,
David
Wiese,
Craig
Williams
and
Pikky
Ya
France.
Match
info
Match
date:
Sunday,
October
31
Match
starts
3:30
PM
IST.
Live
telecast:
Star
Sports
Networks
Live
streaming:
Disney
+
HotStar
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