ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will face off Afghanistan in a high-voltage Twenty20 World Cup match in Dubai on Friday.
In 2019, a 50-over match between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Leeds, England was scarred by fighting and a pitch invasion.
Players needed security escorts off the pitch as fans poured out of the terraces after Afghanistan suffered an agonizing defeat.
Friday’s game in Dubai could be tense as both teams are undefeated and chasing semifinal places.
A weekend capacity crowd is expected from among the huge expatriate population of both nations, who live and work in the Gulf.
On Thursday, Afghan star spinner Rashid Khan pleaded with fans to behave when the two neighbors meet in the T20 World Cup.
“Definitely it’s always a good game against Pakistan, but this should remain as a game,” Rashid said on Thursday.
“I request all the fans to stay cool and calm and just enjoy the game. What happened in the 2019 match should not have happened.”
Rashid claimed four wickets and fellow spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman took five as Afghanistan started their T20 World Cup in style, bowling out Scotland for just 60 in reply to their mammoth 190-4. Afghanistan smashed 11 sixes and 13 boundaries in their rout of Scotland in Sharjah.
Pakistan, on the other hand, crushed India by a whopping 10 wickets, followed by their rout of New Zealand in the previous two games.
