The head coach of Afghanistan, Jonathan Trott, is optimistic that his team will be able to defeat Pakistan, which is in a difficult position after losing their previous two matches in a row.

The 42-year-old competitor continued by saying that the fiery rivalry between the two squads, each of which is keen to win, would make the matchup on Monday an exciting contest.

"I think for them (Afghans), it's a rivalry that excites them. It's a rivalry that sometimes in the past has been very passionate. But I'm sure we'll see an exciting game tomorrow. It's just the nature of the rivalry. And both teams respect each other but are very desperate to win," Trott said.

In August, Pakistan swept Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series, with Pakistan squeaking out a one-wicket victory in the second game of the series. "We've had an ODI series against them recently where we should have won a few games, (but) we didn't. So hopefully, we can put that right tomorrow,” Trott added.

Pakistan, however, is experiencing a slump after two consecutive discouraging defeats at the hands of India and England. However, Trott stresses that the player's recent form will have little bearing on the current game.

“We always look to put the opposition under pressure straight away so we’ll be looking to do that tomorrow. I think when we play Pakistan, form doesn’t come into the game. There are a lot of other things that come into the game with regard to the rivalry and the passion.”

“So, we know the Pakistan team will be very determined to win tomorrow and certainly want to sort of snap that losing streak of the two games. But again, we want to win just as much as they do, so that should be good,” Trott further said.