Team news, likely XIs, form guide, players to watch, odds, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, umpire appointments and everything else you need to know
Afghanistan take on Scotland in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.
The game is scheduled for 6pm local time (3pm BST) on Monday, October 25, 2021.
The game will be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah.
Sharjah Cricket Stadium: Ground guide
Scotland are the competition's form team, having qualified for the Super 12s with a perfect record from a group also including Bangladesh, Oman and Papua New Guinea. Having never won a match at a global ICC tournament, they have now won four in a row.
Afghanistan haven't played since hammering West Indies in a warmup match, two days after being beaten by South Africa in another practice game. Despite their relative lack of preparation time, these conditions should suit Mohammad Nabi's side, who have plenty of big hitting alongside their famed armoury of spinners.
The two nations have faced off six times in T20Is, with Scotland still waiting to avoid defeat for the first time. Among those was one clash at the 2016 World T20.
Dafabet are backing Afghanistan as big favourites to get off to a winning start, offering 3/10 to prevail.
Scotland are available at longer odds at 12/5.
Rashid Khan is the obvious answer; the Afghan leg-spinner is the second-ranked player on the T20 Player Index.
Mohammad Nabi, who replaced Rashid as captain after his resignation on the eve of the competition, recorded figures of 3 for 2 in four overs against West Indies in their warmup win last week. Hazratullah Zazai, the big-hitting opener, comes into the tournament in prime form as well; he made 56 in the same game as Nabi's haul.
For Scotland, their early success in this tournament has been typified by a fine bowling attack, led by seamers Josh Davey, Brad Wheal and Safyaan Sharif, with spinners Chris Greaves and Mark Watt alongside them.
Kyle Coetzer returned to form against Oman, while George Munsey is waiting to fully ignite.
Safyaan Sharif returned from a minor niggle last time out, having missed the victory over Papua New Guinea. He replaced Alasdair Evans, and Scotland could be unchanged from their crucial victory over Oman.
For Afghanistan, who arrived in the UAE late due to visa issues and might feel slightly undercooked, they will be indebted to the spin trio of Rashid, Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, with Qais Ahmad not even included in their squad.
The following umpires and match referees have been named by the ICC to officiate in the T20 World Cup 2021:
Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath
Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson
The following officials have been allocated to this fixture:
On-field umpires: Dharmasena, P Wilson
TV umpire: Kettleborough
Fourth umpire: Gough
Referee: Crowe
Full T20 World Cup officials appointments: Click here
The early evening in Sharjah will be a warm one, with temperatures hitting 31 degrees Celsius for the start of play.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, though Covid protocols including the wearing of face masks will be in place.
Click here to visit the ICC's ticketing site.
Scotland are in fine form, but Afghanistan are comfortable in these conditions. The Afghans' bowling attack might just give them the edge, but expect this to be close.
T20 WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Talk Talk 404, BT TV 423, Virgin 504) will broadcast the series in the United Kingdom, with the content available online via its streaming platform Sky Go.
BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will have live ball-by-ball radio commentary of all tournament matches, accessible through the BBC Sport website, BBC Sounds or DAB radio.
The Star Sports network is showing the tournament in India. Matches can be streamed via Disney+ Hotstar
Other broadcasters by territory:
Australia - Fox Sports, Channel 9, Kayo Sports
New Zealand – Sky Sport New Zealand
Pakistan - PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Bangladesh - Ghazi Tv (GTV)
Sri Lanka – SLRC (Channel Eye)
South Africa – SuperSport
Caribbean – ESPN
Middle East and North Africa – eLife TV, StarzPlay, Switch TV
USA – ESPN+
Singapore - Star Cricket, Star Hub and Singtel
Malaysia - Fox International Channels
Hong Kong - Star Cricket
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveen ul Haq
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer (c), Richard Berrington, Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Ally Evans, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Hamid Hassan
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer, George Munsey, Richie Berrington, Matt Cross, Calum Macleod, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Josh Davey, Safyaan Sharif, Brad Wheal
T20 World Cup Hub: News, features, stats, live scores
Our coverage of the T20 World Cup is brought to you in association with Dafabet India. For more on Dafabet and to place a bet, click here
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.