Team LagateRaho.com previews the clash from Sharjah on Monday and feels the outsiders Scotland have a real chance if they chase.
The Afghans look strong
The Afghanistan lineup looks promising, especially after their crushing 56 run win over the struggling West Indies, but there are still questions that need answering on the team selection front. They need to decide their opening pairing: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz or Mohammad Shahzad? In their middle order, we expect Karim Janat to be picked ahead of Ashgar Afghan. With the ball, the Afghans are clearly spin heavy with Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman leading the attack. In the death overs, Naveen-ul-Haq could be critical.
Possible line up
Zazai, Shahzad, Gurbaz, Janat, Nabi, Zadran, Naib, Rashid, Fareed, Mujeeb, Naveen
The Scots can’t be taken lightly
With a 100% record in warm up matches, including an upset win over Bangladesh, this Scotland line up is quite formidable. Wheal and Davey have proved to be an effective yet deadly pace partnership and the spin trio- Matt Watt, Chris Greaves and Mike Leask have been solid and economical.
The result of this match will depend highly on how Scotland counter Bangladesh’s spin threat.
Possible line up
Munsey, Coetzer, Cross, Berrington, Mcleod, Greaves, Leask, Watt, Davey, Sharif, Wheal
Pitch and conditions
Sharjah has been an extremely tricky ground for batsmen. Ireland were held to 125 by Namibia and the 1st innings average score in the 2021 IPL was a measly 137. All things considered, we could look at The Runs Over/ Under Markets and consider placing a bet on the Runs Under 139.5 market.
Back Under 139.5 runs to be score in the first innings @ 2
Scots worth backing if they chase
The Scots have lost each of their six encounters with the Afghans, albeit their last meeting was in 2016. Still we see some value in placing a small wager if they are chasing as the dew and wet ball could significantly reduce the gap between the two sides.
Back Scotland if they chase @ 3.8
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