Pakistan have shunned unpredictability to register back-to-back wins against India and New Zealand in the T20 World Cup. On Friday, they would look to inch closer to a semi-final berth with a victory over Afghanistan in Dubai.

Babar Azam’s Pakistan start as overwhelming favourites in this clash of neighbours, but writing off the Afghans would not be wise.

Afghanistan did not look like a team which were distracted by political turmoil back home when they decimated Scotland in their opening Super 12 match. They are the most improved side in international cricket and are perfectly capable of surprising the bigger names.

Pakistan though have generated good momentum and that might just be too hot for the Afghans to handle. Their bowling has been sharp and their batting decent. They have surprised many with their top-class fielding as well.

The outcome of the match will mostly depend on how the Afghanistan batters handle Pakistan’s fiery bowling attack. Speedsters Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf have been spitting fire while their spinners have provided excellent support to their pacers.

Afghanistan batters Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran can hit the ball hard for sure, but can they use their power wisely, avoiding undue risk against the marauding Pakistan bowlers? That will be the key.

On the bowling front, Afghanistan have some fine spinners to serve them. Rashid Khan needs no introduction and Mujeeb Ur Rahman took five wickets in the last match. Captain Mohammad Nabi is a good spinner as well.

Much of Pakistan’s batting will revolve around the start that captain Babar and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan manage to provide.

Focus on present

The International Cricket Council will meet next month to discuss the future of cricket in Afghanistan under its new government. But the Afghan players have decided not to lose sleep over what the future may hold and are instead focusing on the present.

“To be honest, at the moment, we don’t have anything in mind,” spinner Rashid, Afghanistan’s biggest cricket star, said on Thursday.

“We have only this thing in the mind that we’re here (in the UAE) for the World Cup and we’re playing five games and we need to win three games (to make the semis).

“No, we don’t think about what’s happening in the future. If we have so many things on our mind, that might affect our performance, and the fans will be upset when you don’t perform as a team,” Rashid added.