Bangladesh must win this match decisively to guarantee themselves one of the semi-final places, and AM Ghazanfar was named Player of the Match after taking six wickets during this encounter.
Bangladesh-Afghanistan cricket rivalry has provided international cricket with thrilling contests for decades. Both teams have seen themselves advance over time; Afghanistan becoming more competitive while Bangladesh cementing itself as a powerhouse nation.
Afghanistan vs Bangladesh
Bangladesh takes on Afghanistan at Sharjah Cricket Stadium for their One-Day International (ODI). Following an inauspicious start to their tour, Bangladesh hopes to change their fortunes against Afghanistan in this match-up. Both teams come into this match full of confidence – but can the Bangladeshi batsmen keep up their impressive form or will they crumble under pressure?
Bangladesh started off well, scoring 50 runs in just two Powerplay overs with Tanzid Hasan and Soumya Sarkar exploiting any loose deliveries to score quickly and set the tone for their innings. Afghan bowlers could not keep up with their run rate while fielding was poor allowing Bangladesh openers to score freely.
Bangladeshi batters faced an uphill challenge adjusting to Afghanistan bowler Rashid Khan in their second Powerplay over. But they performed admirably and managed to retain their lead.
Middle overs were another matter as Afghan seamers struck early and often. With pace and length from Pakistan-born Afghanistan bowlers proving difficult for any batter to cope with.
Afghanistan was victorious on day four and tied the series at 1-1 after Nabi played an amazing innings that enabled them to achieve the total they scored.
Azmatullah Omarzai became the final Bangladeshi wicket after being caught off a short ball from Nasum Ahmed, which proved decisive in bringing back into play and exerting pressure on their batting lineup.
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi was pleased with how his side performed against Bangladesh in the inaugural ODI match. He noted that Bangladesh were complacent in their approach and must step up intensity and aggression, and also applauded Azmatullah Omarzai and Mujeeb Ur Rehman’s bowling performances as stand-out players for Afghanistan. Lastly, Shahidi noted an injury suffered by Ahmad Shah Gurbaz and hopes he recovers quickly so he may rejoin his team-mates before their next ODI matchup against them next time around.
Timeline
Afghanistan can use victory in this match to cement their position at the top of their group and improve their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Bangladesh are struggling in this tournament – currently tied in fourth place behind India but five behind Australia with two matches still to go and only winning both can give them any hope of reaching semifinals.
Afghanistan are off to an excellent start as they try and chase a target of 236. Shahidi and Nabi should form a good partnership that will see them over the line, while Bangladesh bowlers will look to make use of the slowness of the pitch, something which has worked in their favour so far.
Gulbadin Naib to Soumya Sarkar. On off, Sarkar attempts a pull but misses and is caught at square leg – another wicket for Afghanistan at an important juncture; had Sarkar chosen better shots, it may well have been another one in their favour.
15.6: Nangeyalia Kharote to Tanzid Hasan. When Hasan attempted to strike it away with his pads but got hit on the wrist and was caught at mid off – only one run has come from this over by Afghan spinners at this time! They continue their blight of Bangladesh at present!
19.0: Rashid Khan to Mehidy Hasan. Rashid gives Mehidy an off-stump delivery angling down leg stump, but Mehidy gets pinged back and can only hit cover point for a single. Rashid appeals for leg-before wicket but the umpire remains unmoved by any appeals for LBW from Rashid.
Bangladesh have produced an outstanding performance that has them on track for a semi-finals spot, led by Mustafizur Rahman and Soumya Sarkar who can hit hard and take risks at bat. Their bowlers have been effective enough in restricting Afghanistan to an acceptable total despite missing Mohammad Nabi due to visa issues; they just need to convert more of their chances.
Venue
Afghanistan will look to build on their impressive victory over South Africa in Sharjah with another triumph against Bangladesh, hoping Hashmatullah Shahidi can inspire another win or will Afghanistan’s fast bowling attack win out?
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first, amassing an impressive total of 235 with Mohammed Nabi leading with an outstanding innings of 84 not out. Afghanistan’s bowlers then kept Bangladeshi batsmen at bay and restricted their scoring potential.
Bangladesh began well with their bat, looking set for victory before losing wickets regularly during their middle overs. They eventually were bowled out for just 143, due to an impressive fast bowling spell from Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan.
Afghan spinners Shahzad Hasan and Najibullah Zadran played their part, producing economical spells. Unfortunately for Tigers’ cricketers they weren’t able to capitalize on such economical performances and lost out.
Bangladesh can take comfort from their record against Afghanistan in bilateral ODIs; having won 10 out of 17 matches between them. Mushfiqur Rahim remains sidelined by an injury requiring surgery on his finger, however.
Bangladesh will make history when they take on Afghanistan in an ODI series for the first time ever in their history, providing an opportunity for Bangladeshi cricketers to improve their batting and fielding performances. Afghanistan have never faced each other before in Twenty20 internationals but will meet up again at Sharjah Cricket Stadium during Super League 2024; live coverage can be found via FanCode app/website in India while broadcasters have yet to make their decision regarding TV coverage at a later date.
Preparation
On Saturday at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will face off in the second one-day international (ODI). Kickoff time for this match is 4:00 pm. Although Bangladesh were defeated in their opening ODI match against Afghanistan, they have an excellent chance of taking revenge by winning this one and leveling up the series. With an array of exciting players available and hoping to buck up their poor ODI form.
Afghanistan won an exciting one-wicket victory against Bangladesh at their last meeting. This victory marked a turning point for Afghanistan and proved that they could compete on equal terms with Bangladesh. Since then, both teams have improved significantly while developing an intense rivalry.
As both teams prepare for this crucial contest, let’s take a look at some of the statistics which could affect its outcome.
Afghanistan will attempt to reach 245 and set themselves a winning total in the final over. Their powerful middle order features Shaidi and Mohammed Nabi who can score runs quickly. Meanwhile, batsmen will need to deal with Bangladesh bowlers who excel at taking wickets quickly with new balls; but left-arm spinners Nasum Ahmed and Nahid Rana should help to limit run-rate.
Bangladesh will aim to improve their batting performance during this match against South Africa. They have struggled recently, losing two tests and three T20I matches against them and must quickly regroup to defeat this match and prevent another crushing loss.
This match promises to be exciting as its slow pitch lends itself to being exploited under lights by bowlers using new ball tactics to take early wickets. Unfortunately, Mushfiqur Rahim will miss due to a finger injury but his replacement, Nazmul Hossain Shanto remains unchanged from its first ODI counterpart and provides a good blend of experience and youth in its team composition.
Read Also : Serbia National Football Team vs England National Football Team Timeline
