World Cup 2019, Match 36, Pakistan v Afghanistan: Why Afghanistan will win the match

The winless Afghanistan team will try to bring about a change in their fortunes when they take on Pakistan in their next encounter of the 2019 Cricket World Cup in Leeds. The winners of ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018 have failed miserably at the mega-event with the team's batting line-up being the reason behind their poor performance.

The Afghan batsmen have struggled to pace the innings well and there have been instances where some silly mistakes cost them a win. They had a chance of defeating title contenders India in the group stage but the minor errors in the chase helped India win.

However, they have a chance of opening their account versus Pakistan in Leeds, a venue where Sri Lanka upset England. Afghanistan's only victory in the last 45 days has come against Pakistan, so they do have a realistic chance of ending their losing streak at Headingley.

All Afghanistan needs to do is put a solid total on the board. If they invite Pakistan to bat first after winning the toss, there are no chances that Pakistan will lose after that. But in case Gulbadin Naib's men bat first and put a 250+ total on the board, then just like Sri Lanka, they can cause an upset in this World Cup.

Pakistan are the not same team when they chase because they tend to crumble under the pressure of the required rate. The likes of Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Asghar Afghan and Najibullah Zadran need to come to party versus the Men in Green. Afghanistan has the bowlers who can defend the total so, the recipe for an Afghan win is to put runs on the board and then bowl their heart out in the second innings to send Pakistan packing.