Bangladesh will lock horns against Afghanistan at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala on Saturday. This will be the first day of the tournament and thus the dew factor will not come into play. Both of these Asian teams will aim to come up with a collective show and get off to a winning start.
We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.
Current form for Bangladesh: L L NR W L
Apart from their win against India in the Asia Cup, Bangladesh hasn’t been able to tick the right boxes as a unit. While their bowling has done a decent job, their batters have failed to live up to the expectations. Thus, they will want their experienced batters such as Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim to step up.
Current form for Afghanistan: L L L L L
Afghanistan have lost all of their last five matches but did come close to beating Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. The Afghans have shown the caliber to upset the big teams and they could be the dark horses of the ongoing tournament.
Head to Head: Matches: 15, Won by Bangladesh: 9, Won by Afghanistan 6.
Bangladesh holds a slight edge against Afghanistan in the H2H battle.
Players to look out for: Mohammad Nabi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad, and Fazalhaq Farooqi will be the crucial players for Afghanistan.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, and Mustafizur Rahman will hold the key for the Tigers.
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.
Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Kumer Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
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