Asia Cup 2018, Match 6: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan - Match Preview

After the scintillating clashes in the Group A, now, it is the turn for Group B at Abu Dhabi. The two already advanced teams Afghanistan and Bangladesh will be locking horns to finish the group stages of the Asia Cup 2018. Both Afghanistan and Bangladesh are high on confidence and would like to continue the momentum. We are here with the match preview.

Injuries dent Bangladesh:

Though the first game of the tournament yielded fruitful results for the team, they also bagged a handful of negatives. They lost their opener Tamim Iqbal and their best batsman Mushfiqur Rahim is playing with consuming the painkillers.

Meanwhile, Shakib Al Hasan isn’t fit enough but still making it for the team. However, this would be the best chance for Bangladesh to rest their senior players and give the bench unit an opportunity to showcase their skills.

The young Mominul Haque would be licking his lips to take the opener’s role while the fast bowlers like Abu Hider might get the game in place of Mustafizur Rahman whose fitness is under the assessment.

Afghanistan high on confidence –

On the other hand, Afghanistan is pretty much in the good stead. They have the got the talented players in the lineup who can give the success for the team on their day. But the lack of consistency is something which is hurting the team badly.

The batting department is the main area of the concern for the team. They have got the players with decent technique. Unfortunately, they are losing the plot in the middle overs thus ending up posting a moderate total on the board.

Once again, the bowling department will be the strength for the team. The presence of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and the fast bowling department might come as an aid for the team. Most Probably, they will go with the same team for the clash against Bangladesh.

Asia Cup 2018: Afghanistan vs Bangladesh – Match Preview –

Date and Time: 20 September 2018, 5:00 PM IST.

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

Weather Conditions – Yet another hot day at the store for the cricketers. The heat will take a toll of the cricketers, and the toss winning skipper would like to escape the heat by batting first.

Pitch Conditions – So far, the pitch has been on the slower side. The batsmen need to work hard for their runs while bowlers will get some juice from it.

Bangladesh predicted XI –  Liton Das(w), Mohammad Mithun, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, and Mominul Haque

Afghanistan predicted XI –  Mohammad Shahzad(w), Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan(c), Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Stats:

1. Mushfiqur Rahim needs 28 runs to become the third Bangladesh player to score 5000 runs in ODIs
2. Mashrafe Mortaza needs three more wickets to become the first Bangladesh bowler to take 250 ODI wickets.