Asia Cup 2018: Super Four, Match 4: Afghanistan vs Bangladesh - Preview

Both Afghanistan and Bangladesh had lost their first match of the Super Four stage in the ongoing Asia Cup 2018. Thus, both the teams will be desperate to get the much-needed win under their belt. Bangladesh was outplayed by India whereas Afghanistan had to face a difficult loss at the hands of Pakistan. It was a hard pill to swallow for Afghanistan as they could not hold their nerves in the final stages of the match.

The experience was not a friend for Aftab Alam and he had to pay the price for bowling a half tracker. However, there was no denying the fact that there were some harsh lessons to grasp for the young Afghan side. They have shown a tremendous upward swing in their improvement graph, which is commendable.

Afghanistan will like to repeat their performance against Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh would have been disappointed by their poor performance against India. The Tigers were blown away by the Men in Blue and they would like to put a better performance against Afghanistan.

In fact, these two teams had also met in the Super Four stage in which Afghanistan went on to win by a gargantuan margin of 136 runs. Thus, Bangladesh has faced two ignominious defeats after their first match win against Sri Lanka and they would be low on confidence.

Furthermore, the Afghan side had recently clean swept Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series. Therefore, Afghanistan has had its wood on Bangladesh in the recent past.

There is no denying the fact that Bangladesh has missed the services of their talisman Tamim Iqbal. Consequently, there is inexperience at the top of the order which has led to poor starts. Therefore, Bangladesh may get in Saumya Sarkar in the playing XI who is added to the squad.

Bangladesh will like to come back strong.

Meanwhile, Mashrafe Mortaza should consider himself to be the first changeup bowler. Mortaza is not express in pace and doesn’t get a lot of swing up front. Mortaza strength is to keep the runs down and he must focus on that.

On the other hand, Hashmatullah Shahidi has been getting consistent runs for Afghanistan. However, the team will like him to change gears as his low strike rate can hurt.

Furthermore, it won’t be a bad idea to promote Mohammad Nabi in the batting order. Nabi is Afghanistan’s most experienced campaigner and he should be given a chance in the middle order.

Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will hold the key.

Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have been superb for Afghanistan. However, the Afghan team needs to work on their pace battery. There is inexperience and they would like to keep improving their arsenal.

Meanwhile, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan will hold the key for Bangladesh in the middle order. They are the most experienced batsmen in Bangladesh’s team and would like to deliver in this all-important fixture.

In fact, this match is all but a do or die fixture for both the teams. Hence, both these teams will like to give their best shot as they will know that a loss here can close doors for the finals.

Date and Time: 23 September 2018, 5:00 PM IST.

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

Weather Conditions: It is expected to be another hot and humid day in Abu Dhabi. Therefore, the fans and the players will be greeted by hot conditions.

Pitch Conditions: The pitch is going to assist the spinners as Afghanistan spinners will be licking their lips. Thus, Asghar Afghan will once again like to field if he wins the toss.

Bangladesh Predicted Playing XI:  Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman.

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

Stats:

Mushfiqur Rahim has scored 4993 runs in the ODI format. Thus, Rahim needs another seven runs to complete his 5000 runs.

Mashrafe Mortaza has scalped 248 wickets and thus he is two wickets away from the feat of 250 wickets whereas Shakib Al Hasan has thus far scalped 243 wickets.