Pakistan have so far managed to replicate the form and results that they had in the 1992 World Cup - the time they won it - and they are keeping their hopes alive of a semi-final spot. 

Afghanistan on the other hand have been a hot mess, with signs of promise but inexperience in certain situations and troubles off the field hurting their cause so far and keeping them winless after seven games. 

We have so far had Sri Lanka’s win of England and Afghanistan taking India to the brink of defeat being two surprising or some might say, mildly shocking results, but we could be in for the biggest shock yet when these two teams clash at Leeds.

The rivalry between the two teams is intense, on and off the field, and with Afghanistan almost following the same, free-spirited, attacking mantra of the classic Pakistani cricket teams, something is bound to give.

The two teams have faced each other on three previous ODIs and in each instance Pakistan have come out the victors.

A win here would take Pakistan to nine points and into fourth spot and given how the Afghan captain Gulbadin Naib was hell-bent on hurting Bangladesh's chances of a semi-spot, it should be no different here.  

However, on paper and on recent form, Pakistan do appear the much stronger side.

The batting is starting to click, led by the consistent and talented Babar Azam and attacking middle order batsman Haris Sohail. 

The bowling is also finding form with in-form Mohammad Amir finding help from teenage left-arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridi and another experienced left-arm quick Wahab Riaz.

Afghanistan’s main bowler, Rashid Khan has had a poor tournament so far, averaging a ghastly 78.5 with just four wickets so far and the batting has had too many players chopped and changed to really find any balance or momentum.

But in the last few games, the bowling, especially from Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been excellent and if Rashid can find his form, they should be able to do damage on a Pakistan batting order prone to collapses.

As a result, the game will be decided by which side bats better and one feels the side batting first and putting up the runs will be able to win this encounter.

Teams

Pakistan should be happy with how the batting is slowly starting to take shape and the other bowlers are also performing, as was the case against New Zealand in the last match, and they should be going with the same winning combination. 

Pakistan’s Probable XI: 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Shaheen Afridi

Afghanistan have been a mess with team selections not really making sense.

Players have been dropped and sent back home, as was the case with wicket-keeper Mohammad Shahzad, and now more news has emerged of Aftab Alam breaking a disciplinary rule and he has also been sent back. 

It would be hard to predict how the lineup would be but going with the same combination from their last game against Bangladesh, might not be a bad choice as the team badly needs some stability. 

Afghanistan’s Probable XI: 1 Gulbadin Naib (capt), 2 Rahmat Shah, 3 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 4 Asghar Afghan, 5 Samiullah Shinwari, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Najibullah Zadran, 8 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Dawlat Zadran, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Pitch and Weather

It is expected to be the hottest day of the year and temperatures should be exceeding 30 degrees Celsius and that should suit both the sub-continental teams; in other words, there should be no worry of rain.

The pitch could be a slow one, as was the case in the recent game but that has seen the fast bowlers gain success. This could be an advantage for Pakistan if their fast bowlers deliver, but it should be something the Afghan medium pacers would also like.