Asia Cup 2018: Match 6, Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Preview- Face-off between Mortaza's men and Afghan spinners

Both have started their campaigns on a resounding note with victories against Sri Lanka.

Published - 19 Sept 2018, 21:01 IST | Updated - 19 Sept 2018, 21:01 IST

3 Min Read

The 2018 Asia Cup has been a fruitful one for both Bangladesh and Afghanistan for the reason that both have started their campaigns on a resounding note with victories against Sri Lanka. Moreover, they also have secured a berth in the Super 4 of the event. In the opening match of the tournament, Mashrafe Mortaza and Co found themselves in dire straits early on.

But Mushfiqur Rahim’s brilliance with the willow bailed them out and helped the team script an incredible 137-run victory in Dubai. Afghanistan, on the contrary, rolled over the Lankans by 91 runs in another one-sided encounter in Abu Dhabi. As far as the next encounter is concerned, the match doesn’t hold any significance from the qualification point of view.

Afghanistan last met Bangladesh in the Asia Cup back in 2014 and won by 32 runs. This time around, the Tigers will be up against the spin-trio of the Afghans, who were phenomenal the last night. They strained against the tweakers a few months ago in the T20 format and they need to somehow stave them off in order to brighten their chances of winning the upcoming encounter.

Team Combination

Bangladesh

Bangladesh are likely to replace left-handed Tamim Iqbal, who was ruled out due to a wrist injury, with another left-hand batsman Mominul Haque. He is expected to open with Liton Das. Shakib Al Hasan bagged a first-ball duck against Lanka and he will be keen to step up in the absence of the experienced Tamim. The onus will undoubtedly on Mushfiqur Rahim to anchor the innings.

Mahmudullah played a poor shot in the last match and he will look to make amends. Mohammad Mithun will be keen to replicate his show from the previous match. The batting has depth with the likes of Mashrafe Mortaza and Mosaddek Hossain in their ranks. In the bowling department, the responsibility will be on Mustafizur, Rubel, and Mortaza along with Mehidy Hasan.

Predicted XI

Mominul Haque, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan

Afghanistan are unlikely to tinker with their winning combination. Mohammad Shahzad looked to throw his bat everything and he isn’t expected to alter his approach. He will open with Ihsanullah Janat, who also looked in good shape against Lanka. Rahmat Shah employed a calm and collected approach and he guided the Afghans with a resounding half-century.

The captain couldn’t do well and he will be keen to contribute. The presence of Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi makes the batting lineup a formidable one. Gulbadin Naib and Aftab Alam are the fast bowlers. In the spin department, Nabi, Rashid, and Mujeeb were outstanding and they are again expected to be a brute force in the next encounter as well.

Predicted XI

Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan (C), Hasmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Gulabadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Players to watch out for

Shakib Al Hasan- Bangladesh

He is arguably one of the finest all-round cricketers Bangladesh have ever produced and quite rightly, his team has looked up to him to deliver the goods with both bat and ball. Albeit he did reasonably with the cherry, the Jessore-born cricketer faultered with the bat last time. His experience needs to come to the fore if the Tigers are to turn over the might of the Afghans.

Mohammad Shahzad- Afghanistan

Right from ball one, the swashbuckling keeper-batsman went after the Lankan bowling attack. He rode his luck to a rather scratchy 34 runs from 47 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six. Mortaza and Co will be very much aware of his style of play and will dearly want to dismiss him early in order to disallow Afghanistan from taking advantage of the field restrictions.