Minnows Afghanistan take on resurgent Pakistan

Sharjah: Afghanistan will play their first One Day International match against the mighty Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium today as they bid to prove their calibre as a rising cricketing nation.

Bizarrely, Sharjah is the home ground for both teams, as Pakistan have a long history here while Afghanistan have been using this ground as a base for training.

Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq is wary of the Afghanistan team. "No match in cricket will be easy. It is an international game and it has the same pressure.

"The little I know about this team is from when they played a Twenty20 game in Pakistan. They have some really talented players and I don't think we should take them easy and we should go with full strength against them."

Afghanistan skipper Nawroz Mangal has been waiting for this big day. "It will be a very good challenge and it is a great moment for us as we play our first match against a major Test-playing nation," he said.

Brilliant performance

Haq went on to recall the brilliant performance of Afghanistan in Pakistan's domestic cricket against Faisalabad Wolves. "We have seen how good they were in that match. They have good fielding and fight hard. You cannot take them easily and to win you have to give 100 per cent against them," said Haq.

Mangal is grateful to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for allowing them to play in Pakistan's domestic cricket. "It was very nice of PCB to allow Afghanistan players into their domestic leagues. It gave us very good experience and boosted our players' confidence by competing against the best players in Pakistan," he said.

Former Pakistan Test star Iqbal Sikander, who is the coach of Afghanistan, said his team is the most talented among all the rising nations. "I have been involved with Afghanistan cricket for the last 10 years and I have seen this team grow from nowhere to where they are now. It is one of the most talented sides that I have ever been involved with.

Teams

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Younus Khan, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal (wk), Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Wahab Riaz, Hammad Azam, Azhar Ali.

Afghanistan: Nawroz Mangal (captain), Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Asgher, Mohammad Shahzad, Shabbir Ahmed, Noor Ali Zadran, Karim Sadiq, Samiullah Shinwari, Mirwais Ashraf, Gulbadain Naib, Dawlat Zadran, Shahpoor Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Amir Hamza, Izatullah Dawlatzai. Afghanistan star pacer Hamid Hassan ruled out due to knee injury.

Match starts: 3pm. Gates open: 1pm

Ticket rates: North stand Dh50; East stand Dh65; West stand Dh80; Grandstand Dh100; Members Pavilion Dh150; VIP stand Dh300.