In what is a crucial Group B clash, Bangladesh faces a must-win situation when they square off against Afghanistan at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Bangladesh under Litton Das started their campaign with an impressive win over Hong Kong but crashed to a disappointing defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka. Bangladesh know that a loss here and their Asia Cup campaign will come to an end.
Afghanistan last played a week ago in the tournament opener against Hong Kong and won that handsomely by 94 runs to boost their Net Run Rate. They have two games left and not out of the woods by any means as a loss here would put them in a precarious position ahead of their last game against Sri Lanka. They are better off than Bangladesh but with Sri Lanka winning against Hong Kong, this game is important for both sides more so for Bangladesh. The stage is set for an epic face-off.
Overview
Bangladesh and Afghanistan clash in a crucial encounter which is also the 9th fixture of the tournament. Group B is up for grabs as Group A is more or less sorted. India have become the first team to go through to the Super 4s, while the result of the game between Pakistan and UAE will decide the second team going to the next round from that particular group.
As far as Group B goes, Sri Lanka one can have a foot in the door for Super 4s is concerned with two wins in two games but they are officially not yet confirmed as anything can happen with three teams barring Hong Kong in contention for the two spots. The plot and result depends on the result of this high-octane clash.
Bangladesh like we mentioned need to win this game at any cost to stay alive in the competition. If they lose tonight, then it’s all over for the Litton Das-led side, with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan going through to the Super 4s. If the Rashid Khan-led team stumbles, the Group B will be wide open with no one having confirmed a spot in the top two and all depending on the match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan on Thursday.
Afghanistan are set to miss the services of Naveen Ul Haq in this tournament. He wasn’t included in the playing XI in the campaign opener. In a recent update from the Afghanistan Cricket Board, they stated that Naveen has been ruled out of the remainder of the Asia Cup as he is still recovering from a shoulder injury. He has not been declared fit by the ACB medical team. Abdullah Ahmadzai, who was in the reserves and recently made his Afghanistan debut in the Tri-Series, has been named as Naveen’s replacement.
Heading into this game, the Bangla Tigers were hunted by the Lankan Lions. After they dominated the show against Hong Kong, Bangladesh were in good space, but they lost both their openers for ducks inside the first two overs, creating havoc in their batting line-up. Skipper Litton Das tried to weather the storm, but couldn’t keep going for long as Bangladesh were left reeling at 53/5 at the stroke of Drinks Break. Thanks to a record 86-run sixth wicket stand between Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain, the Tigers reached a respectable total of 139/5 in 20 overs.
Mustafizur Rahman removed Kusal Mendis early in the chase with the new ball. Kamil Mishara was struggling, and Mahedi Hasan dropped him off the bowling of Shoriful Islam which was the moment when the Lankan number three turned things around. Bangladesh had no control over the proceedings as Pathum Nissanka and Mishara stitched a partnership that took the game away from their arch rivals. Despite Mahedi and Tanzim Hasan Sakib picking up a few quick wickets post Drinks, the game was already out of their hands as Bangladesh accepted their six-wicket defeat in the 15th over.
Taskin Ahmed was rested as per their rotation policy, and the Bangladesh spearhead is all but confirmed to return to the XI in place of Shoriful Islam.
On the other hand, Afghanistan are back in action after a long gap of seven days. They still have two games remaining in Group B and have everything under control going into this massive clash. After succumbing under pressure to Pakistan in a Tri-Series final, the Rashid Khan-led side had to make a quick turnaround to play in the tournament opener against Hong Kong and came out on top with a thumping 94-run win.
Batting first, Afghanistan posted a huge 188/6 in 20 overs. Experienced players Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran didn’t have a great outing with the bat. Talented Sediqullah Atal steadied the ship, anchoring the innings with his unbeaten 73 off 52 balls. He was nicely supported by the veteran Mohammad Nabi. However, Nabi and Gulbadin Naib fell in quick succession, giving an outside chance for Hong Kong to bounce back. Azmatullah Omarzai came in and teed off to score a record-breaking half-century off just 20 balls to provide the necessary impetus to the innings.
It was just a matter of time before Afghanistan ran through Hong Kong’s batting order as the chasing side lost wickets at regular intervals and failed to counter a high quality Afghan bowling attack. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naib picked up a couple of wickets each, while Omarzai, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad were all over the opposition like a rash as they restricted Hong Kong to a paltry 94/9 in 20 overs.
Both teams will be desperate for two points and Bangladesh have no other option but to win. The stage is set for an epic showdown in Abu Dhabi and it remains to be seen who comes out on top as Afghanistan look to deliver the knockout punch to Bangladesh.
Head-To-Head
The Head-To-Head between the two teams shows that both teams have played against each other 13 times with Bangladesh winning 5 of them and Afghanistan 7. One match between them was abandoned due to rain. Bangladesh though have won 2 out of their last 3 completed games with Afghanistan winning the last encounter on 25th June 2024 in the T20 World Cup.
Pitch & Weather Report
The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi will help the pacers early on with some lateral movement with the spinners taking control in the middle overs. Batters have to apply themselves and then get runs. They need to play out the initial overs to get their eye in. A score of around 160-170 can be competitive and expect the captain winning the toss to chase. Afghanistan prefers to bat first while Bangladesh prefers chasing. We have to see how things pan out at toss.
The weather in Abu Dhabi will be hot touching close to 40 degrees Celsius during the day. It will cool down during match time to a degree. There is no chance of rain as players have to encounter the heat once again and adjust. They will be used to the heat by now.
Predicted/Probable Playing XIs of both sides
Bangladesh XI: Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Litton Das (c &wk), Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.
Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Key Players to watch out for in this clash:
Litton Das: The captain of Bangladesh has to handle the burden of the team as the team looks to be overdependent on him to perform everytime. When he does badly, the team tends to struggle. Batting at Number 3, he is the glue to the batting and will be expected to do well with openers not clicking and middle order not firing that much. The onus is on Das to anchor the innings and take Bangladesh to a competitive total.
Taskin Ahmed: Rested from the previous game, Taskin Ahmed will come out all guns blazing and lead this attack from the front. He is the spearhead of the attack and is expected to take early wickets in the powerplay and then also bowl well with variations in the death overs. He will be expected to deliver the goods and restrict Afghanistan to a paltry score if possible.
Ibrahim Zadran: Yet to fire in Asia Cup 2025, Ibrahim Zadran was in stellar form in the Tri-Series and will be expected to do well later tonight. Batting in the top 3, Ibrahim plays the role of anchor and holds the innings together so that the big hitters can bat around him. If he fires alongside Atal, it will go a long way in solving Afghanistan’s problems and make them a stronger unit to boast of. Afghanistan will be hoping he comes back into form.
Rashid Khan: The talismanic Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan will be the key player no doubt. He can score handy runs down the order as well as can be an insurance with the ball. His spell under these conditions will be absolutely vital for the game. In a close game, a player like Rashid Khan can make a big difference to the team’s fortunes and he will look to lead Afghanistan from the front.
Key Stats to look forward to ahead of this contest.
- Litton Das who is on 2524 runs needs 28 more runs to surpass Shakib Al Hasan who has 2551 runs and become Bangladesh’s leading T20I run-scorer.
- Litton Das is five fours away from 250 T20I fours.
- Towhid Hridoy needs 48 runs to complete 1000 T20I runs.
- Shamim Hossain needs 11 runs to reach 500 T20I runs and four fours to get to 50 T20I fours.
- Mustafizur Rahman needs six wickets to equal Shakib Al Hasan’s 149 and become Bangladesh’s joint highest T20I wicket-taker.
- Taskin Ahmed needs four wickets to complete 100 T20I wickets.
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz is just one six away from 100 T20I sixes.
- Ibrahim Zadran needs 30 runs to complete 1000 T20I runs and six sixes to reach 50 T20I sixes.
- Mujeeb Ur Rahman with 65 wickets needs three wickets to go past Naveen Ul Haq who has 67 wickets and become Afghanistan’s third-highest wicket-taker in T20Is.
Predicted/Possible Outcome of the Match.
This match is a battle of equals and whoever plays better on the day shall win. Both teams have their sets of strengths and weaknesses. Afghanistan likes putting runs on the board and Bangladesh prefers to chase. So, we will see how things pan out. Looking at current form, familiarity with conditions and team on paper, we give a slight edge to Afghanistan but Bangladesh are not out of it by any means.
Let’s see how things unfold later tonight at 8PM IST when these two teams face off in Abu Dhabi in what promises to be an epic contest with good crowd support as well. May the best team win and cricket should be the winner at the end of it all.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: Mike Hesson Reflects On Demoralising Defeat Against India