CHENNAI: Its seeds sown a little over a decade ago, the Pakistan-Afghanistan rivalry in international cricket often flies under the radar. Still in its early days, it has all the ingredients, barring healthy head-to-head statistics, to propel itself to the next level – world-class operators, nail-biting finishes, on-field drama that add spice to the contests.
Be it the humdinger that the neighbours played in the Asia Cup T20 in Sharjah last year or Naseem Shah’s over-the-top celebration after guiding Pakistan to an ODI series-clinching victory in Hambantota in August, the rivalry has dished out moments which are of interest to not only both sets of fans but also the wider cricketing world.
The “excitement” will be no different when the teams face off in an important World Cup tie here on Monday, according to Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott.
“It (rivalry) has been passionate sometimes in the past. We have seen Asia Cup clashes and matches that have been exciting...no closer than the Asia Cup T20. We have had very close games as well, which have been good and interesting. I am sure that we will see an exciting game; it is the nature of the rivalry. Both teams respect each other but are desperate to win,” said Trott.
Speaking purely on numbers, Pakistan have thoroughly dominated the exchanges since 2012 – they have won each of the seven one-dayers so far – but Afghanistan have run their neighbours close on quite a few occasions. While Pakistan can take confidence from their 100 per cent head-to-head record, they will not have World Cup form on their side.
The Babar Azam-led team is on a two-match losing streak, having endured huge defeats at the hands of India and Australia. But Trott stressed that form goes out of the window when the two sides battle it out.
“There are a lot of other things that come into the game, with regards to rivalry, history and passion. Pakistan will be determined to win but we want to win as much as they do. Our boys will look to put pressure on them” said Trott.
Meanwhile, Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq said, “We know that Afghanistan is a good side, especially in these conditions. Even there (Sri Lanka), the conditions were spin-friendly, but we beat them 3-0.”
(AI image)
