The Pakistan cricket team gears up for what is expected to be another close contest in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 journey. Pakistan take on neighbours Afghanistan in their 5th World Cup match, having won two and lost two of their previous four. Traditionally, the Pakistan vs Afghanistan showdown has produced some intensely contested matches. Pakistan legend Shoaib Akhtar isn't expecting anything else but another game that could see tempers flare on the field. But, Akhtar feels it won't just be Pakistan vs Afghanistan but also Pakistan vs the crowd and the groundsmen.
In a video shared on Twitter, Akhtar warned Babar Azam's men against taking Afghanistan lightly. He said, by no means, would the contest be one-sided.
"It's not just #PAKvsAFG. It's Pak vs the crowd. It's Pak vs the groundsmen. Tough match for us. Afghanistan is a tough team, they're not any minnow or rollover," Akhtar captioned the video.
"It's a crucial match, big match. You know tempers flare in this match. By all means, Afghanistan are not minnows. This won't be a run-over. This is not the sort of team where 'upsets' will be called. This is a team which is at par with Pakistan. They have all the spinners, and they will trouble the Pakistan team. Pakistan cannot afford to lose to Afghanistan, in fact they can't afford to lose to anyone," Akhtar said in the video.
The former Pakistan pacer is of the opinion that the pitches at Chepauk will favour Afghanistan's spinners to a large extent. Even the crowd support would be with them.
"Things that go in Afghanistan's favour, I am telling you are crowd support, ground support, pitches are good (which favour them). I think the spinning track, which will be there, will favour spinners no matter if you bowl during the day or under the lights," Akhtar opined.
After winning the first two matches in the World Cup campaign, Pakistan lost the next two -- against India and Australia. Afghanistan, on the other hand, have beaten the defending champions England in this campaign but lost out to India, New Zealand and Bangladesh.
As both teams fight for their survival, a neck-to-neck battle can be expected.