Asia Cup 2014 Match 3 Preview: Pakistan vs Afghanistan Live Streaming Information

Making their debut in the Asia Cup is a momentous occasion enough; but if Afghanistan can pull off a where-did-that-come-from victory over Pakistan on Thursday, then the result will go into cricketing folklore.

[Read the Pakistan vs Afghanistan report HERE.]

The motivation will be making history when non-Test playing nation Afghanistan make their entry into the continental tournament in Fatullah.

"We will try our best against every team," Afghanistan captain Mohammed Nabi said. "There is no target. We will play good cricket and when the time comes we will win."

Afghanistan are relatively familiar with their opponents Pakistan, having played them in a few matches before. While Pakistan look like daunting opponents, the novice team will have one advantage going into the game, though - no fear of losing, because they are expected to be thumped anyway.

That advantage exists for pretty much every match they will play in Asia Cup 2014. "It's a very good feeling to play against big teams," Nabi added. "We played against India and Pakistan in big events like the World T20, against Pakistan in ODIs and T20s in Sharjah.

"Maybe they know how Afghanistan plays and we hope to give them a tough time. It is good news that other team captains talk about the Afghanistan team. They know how we play, that's why they talk about us. We will try our best to play good cricket in this tournament."

Nabi also believes familiarity playing in Bangladesh conditions could be an added benefit, with several of the Afghanistan players taking part in Bangladesh's domestic circuit.

"I have played in the BPL and the Dhaka Premier Division," Nabi said. "In both tournaments, I performed very well and I know the grounds and pitches in Bangladesh. It is good for me and we will try our best to perform.

"Rahmat Shah, Azghar (Stanikzai), Gulbadin Naib, (Mohammad) Shahzad, Shapoor (Zadran), maybe half the team have played in Bangladesh and they can take this experience into the Asia Cup."

At the other end, Pakistan will be smarting from a narrow defeat to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup opener on Tuesday. Looking well on course to chase down the target of 297 set by Sri Lanka, the Pakistan batsmen lost their way from a winning position, with Lasith Malinga coming to the fore in the final overs.

Having seen victory taken from their grasp against Sri Lanka, Misbah-ul-Haq and co. will be doubly determined to ensure they don't leave the field disappointed at the end of the match against Afghanistan.

Asia Cup 2014: Pakistan vs Afghanistan Live TV information

Asia Cup 2014: Pakistan vs Afghanistan Live Streaming information

Team news: Pakistan: The openers need to give Pakistan a brighter start, and will be under pressure to perform, especially Ahmed Shehzad, who has the penchant to use up too many dot deliveries. Umar Gul looked good with the ball for the men in green, but Misbah might look to enlist the services of Anwar Ali in place of Bilawal Bhatti, who only bowled four overs against the Lankans.

Afghanistan: It will be interesting to see how the likes of Mohammad Nabi, Nawroz Mangal, who holds plenty of experience, and Mohammad Shahzad, expected to be the attacking maestro for Afghanistan, cope with the pressure of playing in such a high-profile tournament.

Expected lineups: Pakistan: Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad; Mohammed Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad, Nawroz Mangal, Asghat Stanikzai, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ali Zadran, Karim Sadiq, Shapoor Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shenwari, Rahmat Shah, Hamza Hotak.