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[Saba Sports News] Pakistan is under pressure, having suffered consecutive defeats in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup after a strong start to the competition. Captain Babar Azam’s team is preparing to take on Afghanistan, known for their world-class spinners, on the spin-friendly pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Pakistan faced humiliating losses to arch-rivals India and five-time champions Australia. In both matches, they had promising starts but struggled against spinners, ending up with scores of 191 and 305, respectively.
To counter Afghanistan’s spin strength, Pakistan’s top-order batsmen, including Babar Azam, Rizwan, and Saud Shakeel, practiced against spinners like Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, and reserve Abrar Ahmed.
Imam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s opener, discussed their preparations for the Afghanistan match and highlighted a previous victory over Afghanistan on a spin-friendly pitch in Hambantota in August 2023. He expressed confidence in their ability to handle spin.
Afghanistan’s head coach, Jonathan Trott, emphasized that the match wouldn’t be solely determined by spinners. He noted that while spinners play a crucial role, it’s a team effort, and the performance of seam bowlers is also significant in various conditions.