Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq [Reuters] Reuters

Afghanistan take on Pakistan in the third game of the Asia Cup One-Day International (ODI) tournament at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah in Bangladesh on Thursday

Where to Watch Live

The play is set to begin at 8:00am GMT. Live coverage will be available on Star Life OK. Follow the live text updates of the game on ESPN Cricinfo.

Overview

Making their debut in the Asia Cup, Afghanistan's previous international fixture was the ICC Intercontinental Cup last December against Ireland where they lost the Test match on the fourth day by 122 runs, failing to chase a target of 346 in their second innings.

Rahmat Shah remained unbeaten in the last inning with 86 runs to his account. His fellow batsmen failed to support his cause with skipper Mohammad Nabi being their second highest run-getter in the closing innings with 49 runs as they succumbed for 224 runs.

However, they can take confidence from Pakistan's stuttering start to their Asia Cup trophy defence, losing to Sri Lanka in the opening game of the tournament. The Lankans set the defending champions a target of 297 runs to chase in the 50 overs, but the Pakistani openers failed to set up a platform for the innings to flourish.

Sharjeel Khan (26) departed in the seventh over while Ahmed Shehzad (28) followed suit in the 13<sup>th. After losing out Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Maqsood with 121 runs on the board, Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal stepped on to the pitch to add a partnership 121 runs for the fifth wicket.

Their cameos were not to last as Pakistan drained the remaining six wickets within the next eight overs of their innings managing only 284 runs. Misbah-ul-Haq will be keen to prevent an upset against their neighbours as they hope to kick-start their title defence.

Team News

Afghanistan

Probable Lineup: Nawroz Mangal, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmat Shah, Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammad Nabi (c), Mirwais Ashraf, Karim Sadiq, Shapoor Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shenwari, Hamza Hotak

Pakistan

Probable Lineup: Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Maqsood, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal (wk), Bilawal Bhatti, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan

Afghanistan Pakistan