Match Details

When: Afghanistan vs England, February 26, 2.00 PM local, 2.30 PM IST

Where: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

What to expect: If the Australia-England is anything to go by, there will be a truck load of runs once more. The recent tri-series featuring Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa also saw big scores. Lahore has hosed nine ODIs since 2022, five of which have been won by the chasing side, with 300-plus totals being gunned down in the last two games. The average first innings total in these nine matches has been 297. Dew could be a factor and that might prompt captains to bowl after winning the toss.

Team news

Afghanistan

Noor Ahmad had a forgettable outing against the Proteas although the wrist spinner did pull things back a bit at the back end. Still, he had expensive figures and with nature of the tournament's format, Afghanistan might opt to get Mujeeb-ur-Rahman into the XI at Noor's expense.

Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman/Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqui.

England

There will be a forced change with Brydon Carse ruled out of the tournament. Gus Atkinson, Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton are all in with a shout of being the replacement in the XI. However, given that Overton has a far better batting ability while also being able to bowl at a reasonable pace, he might just edge the others.

Probable XI: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith(wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(wk), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.