Hashmatullah Shahidi - We wanted to bat first, but the toss is not in your hand. One change for us - Noor Ahmad is in for Fazalhaq Farooqi. We played a series against them in Sri Lanka and we wanted more spinning options. We want to restrict them to 250 or less.

Babar Azam - We will bat first. The pitch looks very dry and might spin. We have one change, Nawaz has fever and Shadab is back. We will have to give our 100% in every match and step-up, that's what I want from my players. The pitch might help the pacers under lights.

Pakistan have won the toss and have opted to bat

A bit of a breeze today coming through the stands. 75m straight boundaries while the square sides are at 65 and 66m respectively. Not a lot of pace in this pitch and you can't hit through the line. Not a blade of grass and expect this pitch to spin. This could be the slowest pitch in this ground today, reckon Pommie Mbangwa and Aaron Finch, in their pitch report

Team News - Pakistan left out Shadab Khan in favour of Usama Mir in Bengaluru, but the returns were minimal. Not only did Usama give away a heap of runs, his reprieve of David Warner turned the game on its head. With the bat, he was dismissed for a duck and could go back to warm the benches. Will Pakistan rest either Rauf or Hasan Ali and give Mohammed Wasim jr a go? Looks highly unlikely at the moment. For Afghanistan, the temptation of playing Noor Ahmad brings in the complication sof balancing out the playing XI. They need their batters to come to the party and give their in-form spinnewrs a chance of putting pressure on the Pakistani batting unit.

The format of the tournament gives teams a chance to recover from early setbacks, but both teams wouldn't want to find themselves with too much catching-up to do as the league phase enters the home stretch. Speaking of the match, the pitch that'll be used today is the same as that of the India-Australia game, the opening match at this venue. It would mean spinners from both sides licking their lips, but it ain't a bad pitch to bat either, as Kohli, KL Rahul and to an extent Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne showed on that Sunday night? Will the toss prove to be vital? It hasn't been the case here in Chennai although both teams would probably want to bat first and set-up a total on the board.

12:45 Local Time, 07:15 GMT: We're back in Chennai for Match 22 of #CWC2023 and this is a massive game from the semifinal perspective for both Pakistan and Afghanistan. As the tournament reaches its halfway stage, we're slowly getting to a point where some results would be tournament defining, and this is one such game for both the Asian sides. With 5 wins out of 5, India are racing away towards a place in the semis, New Zealand and South Africa aren't too far behind either while Australia have rediscovered their winning ways. As such, it's imperative for both sides to finish on a winning note today. Both teams are coming into the contest on the back of losses, Afghanistan tumbled over to New Zealand at this very venue a few days ago whereas Pakistan were humbled by Australia in Bengaluru, slipping to their second straight loss.

Preview by Aayush Puthran

At the moment, there isn't a lot going right for Afghanistan at the World Cup.

Almost mid-way through the tournament, despite their historic win against England, they find themselves at the bottom of the table. But as their extended stay in Chennai continues following an insipid performance against New Zealand, they would be licking their wounds in anticipation of the opportunity that presents itself in their next encounter against Pakistan. Having stretched their Asian neighbours close on several occasions, including the last World Cup, the expected spin-friendly conditions of Chennai would be as favourable as it could get for them to end the winless head-to-head run.

The Babar Azam-led side has been a shadow of the team that had clinched the No 1 ODI rankings only last month. While some of their worries, most prominently the poor form of the openers, have resolved, newer concerns have cropped up. Their most potent threat - with the new ball - has been blunted, and how. Since returning from injury in April this year, Shaheen Afridi has averaged 42.50 in the first 10 overs, picking a wicket every 48.8 balls. And the hole left by Naseem Shah's injury hasn't been filled up adequately by Hasan Ali with the new ball.

While the opportunity to course-correct that in the Afghanistan clash exists, the issue will be in the spin department. Not only are their spinners not firing, but their batting against spin has also left additional concerns. The collapse against Adam Zampa in the previous game, to follow up on their collapse against India, is alarming even if not just detrimental to plans of executing the Pakistan Way. Given their recent success against Afghanistan in the spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka, the team is confident that they can counter Rashid Khan & Co, but it could be their ultimate banana-peel fixture.

But Afghanistan's coach Jonathan Trott has made it clear that the onus of winning games can't lie solely on the spinners and they need the batters to come good - post totals and chase totals. Afghanistan may be last on the points table, but there isn't a lot separating them from Pakistan. A reasonably big win on Monday could not only propel them above their Asian neighbours, but could also find them a place in the top four. It's that jam-packed a competition.

Both teams have been inconsistent so far in their opening four games - delightful in parts but crumbled and taken apart at crucial times. They bring in some high-level skills, some unexpected blunders and the intensity of a lesser-spoken Asian rivalry; as raw and passionate as any in the game.

When: Monday, October 23, 2023, 2:00 PM IST

Where: Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Match 22, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

What to expect: The match is expected to be played on pitch number 5, the same pitch where the India-Australia contest was played. While India managed to counter spin well, Australia were all over the place against the Indian spin trio. Dew is unlikely to play a part. If at all, the last 10-15 overs of the game could be marginally impacted.

Team News:

Pakistan: Salman Agha, who was unavailable for the previous game due to an illness, was spotted at the practice session on Sunday. He could add value with the bat as well as the ball, but bringing him to the XI would require some big changes to the combination. The out-of-form Shadab Khan, who was left out in the previous game, could prove potent with his fastish legbreaks and may come in for Usama.

Tactics & Strategy: Imam ul Haq has scored heavily against Afghanistan, averaging 56.2 against them in the last five innings. Even though he has not scored at a brisk pace against Rashid, the leggie has never managed to dismiss him in ODIs.

Probable XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

Afghanistan: There could be enough temptation to bring in Noor Ahmad as the fourth spin option in place of a frontline pacer, but it remains to be seen if Afghanistan are willing to play that gamble.

Tactics & Strategy: Babar Azam's poor run in recent games has played a part in Pakistan's downfall. He has been repeatedly getting caught at mid wicket while playing on the up against the spinners. Additionally, Rashid Khan has managed to contain the Pakistan skipper, dismissing him twice in 53 balls, conceding only 48 runs.

Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqui

Did you know?

Pakistan have won all seven ODIs against Afghanistan

Pakistani spinners have the second worst average in this year's World Cup: 78.50, picking up a wicket every 75.5 balls

Shaheen Afridi has picked up two wickets in each of the five ODis he has played against Afghanistan. He is also the leading wicket-taker in the death overs in ODIs this year (17)

What they said:

The thing is - with spinners, there are only two or three of them playing a game. And it's the other eight as well that have to play the game so that's important. So, it's everybody's job, it's not just the spinners job to win games. There's batsmen who've got to put runs on the board or batsmen who've got to chase down a total - Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan head coach

There are good spinners in Afghanistan who can bowl well in the middle overs. But as I mentioned, we had beaten them in Hambantota 3-0. Even there, the conditions were very spin friendly. So, we will back that and our ability - Imam ul Haq, Pakistan opener

Squads:

Afghanistan Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil(w), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Rahman, Najibullah Zadran

Pakistan Squad: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Agha Salman