Afghanistan and Pakistan will face off in the first game of the three-game ODI series. The Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota will host this match on Tuesday 22nd August.

Afghanistan and Pakistan will meet in a three-game ODI series ahead of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. The 1st ODI will be played on August 22nd at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota.

Pakistan, led by Babar Azam, have a balanced squad for the series. Their captain is in brilliant form as he also scored 100 goals for Colombo Strikers in Lanka Premier League 2023. A lot will depend on how Babar fares, both as a batsman and as a captain.

Pakistan also recalled Saud Shakeel and Faheem Ashraf to the ODI group. Shakeel has been great for Pakistan in Test cricket and it's about time he showed he's just as good in white ball cricket. The focus is also on personalities such as Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.

Afghanistan, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, also has a strong side. Ibrahim Zadran showed consistency in the 50-over format. He will open the batting game with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who is expected to give the team a flying start on the power play.

Their middle order consisting of Shahidi, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi is quite experienced. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are likely to be the Afghans' top spinners. Fazalhaq Farooqi is also likely to play an important role, especially with the new ball.

Match Preview

Afghanistan will go into the series with relative confidence, having recently defeated Bangladesh in a three-game ODI series in Bangladesh

In the batting department, team management will rely heavily on players like opener Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran and all-rounder Mohammad Nabi to deliver the bulk of the runs.

On the bowling front, the responsibility rests with pace players like Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Saleem and Fazalhaq Farooqi making timely breakthroughs.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi are three prominent spinners for Afghanistan in this opening game.

The Men in Green have selected their full squad for the upcoming three-game ODI series against Afghanistan. Top players Usama Mir, Tayyab Tahir and Saud Shakeel are newcomers to the one-day series for Afghanistan.

In the batting department, the Green Caps will need captain Babar Azam, openers Imam-UL-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan to score the majority of runs.

In bowling, the team will rely heavily on pace players like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf for timely breakthroughs.

Pitch Report

Speaking of pitch-up, the new ball benefits pace players while providing spinners with support as the game progresses. The average score in the first innings in the 50-over format at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium is 249 runs. In the 24 ODIs played at the venue, the team that chased and batted first won in most cases, as wickets were often a struggle for the chasing teams as the pitch slows in the later stages of play. Therefore, the captain who wins the toss will prefer to bat at that location first.

Weather Report

It will be a cloudy day with heavy cloud cover. However, the chance of rain is only 2 percent. The temperature will be between 32 and 26 degrees.

Toss Prediction

Head to Head

Venue Details

Match Prediction

Pakistan will go into the upcoming game as favourites, albeit not by a huge margin. Afghanistan have the side that can scare their Asian rivals, but they could end up falling short.

Prediction: Pakistan will win the game.

Betting Tips

Bet on Pakistan to win.

Probable Playing XI

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Top Fantasy Picks Dream11 Prediction

Afghanistan Key Players

Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be crucial for Afghanistan with the bat. The hitter has had a lean run in the T20 years but ODI is a different format and he will be looking to find form. In the last series against Bangladesh, Gurbaz was Afghanistan's leading runs scorer with 173 runs.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman - Afghanistan relies heavily on his spin attack and the conditions in Sri Lanka are not easy to beat. Mujeeb and Rashid in the middle overs will decide the fate of the game.

Pakistan Key Players

Fakhar Zaman is also an important player in the Pakistan team. Zaman was in great form against New Zealand, scoring 363 runs and averaging 90 in the five-game streak. It will be interesting to see if Zaman can show consistency.

Shaheen Afridi| will be the lead pacer for Pakistan. Afridi recently played in Hundred and threw some sensational bowling games. With the new ball, he will be crucial for Pakistan.