The heartbreak against Pakistan notwithstanding, the fearless and ambitious Afghans are not giving up on their dream of making the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

Afghanistan, who gave Pakistan a mighty scare on Friday, face tournament debutants Namibia in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. The Afghans are not just confident of getting past the Namibians, they are also plotting surprises for India and New Zealand.

Pacer Naveen-ul Haq, who was excellent at the death against Pakistan, reflected the resolve in the camp. “I see Afghanistan having a great chance of beating any team in this competition. As you saw last night (on Friday)… we almost did it (against Pakistan). But it’s Namibia coming next and then it’s India and New Zealand. So we’re up for it,” Naveen said at a media conference on Saturday.

Armed with a world-class spin attack, led by Rashid Khan, the side’s confidence doesn’t look misplaced. Not just Rashid, even Mujeeb Ur Rahman and captain Mohammad Nabi have been very successful with their spin.

Namibia, on the other hand, will hope to spring a surprise, like they did against Scotland. Afghanistan though are a much difficult proposition and captain Gerhard Erasmus knows that. “From here on we have to lift our level. We are excited for the challenge,” Erasmus had said after the win against Scotland.

The experience of David Wiese will once again be the key for the African side.

The Afghans will hope that their top and middle order perform better and get some runs ahead of the tougher challenges ahead. A lower order resurgence had saved their innings against Pakistan, but on Sunday they will want the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hazratullah Zazai to do well.