The year 2018 saw the rise of Afghanistan as a cricket nation. They are sharp, ruthless and are a team on a mission to prove their worth in the tournament. The never say die attitude and killer instinct clinched them a historic one day series win over Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. They won the 5 match series 3-2.
The historic one day series win was followed by T20 series win against the UAE (United Arab Emirates). Afghanistan won the series 3-0. There have an upper hand over Bangladesh in the T20 format winning 3 out of 4 matches. Afghanistan is improving with each day giving Bangladesh the taste of their medicine.
Bangladesh vs. Afghanistan head to head
Both the teams have played each other 5 times till date. Bangladesh won 3 out of 5 matches, proving their supremacy, but Afghanistan is not too far behind. They managed to win two matches. The cognoscente’s and spectators might favor Bangladesh, but Afghanistan is on a roll at the moment.
Asia Cup 2018 – Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh Match Prediction
Bangladesh Recent Performance
The Bangladesh team has just peaked at the right time, thanks to the series win against West Indies, doing all sorts of good to their confidence. They have won 5 ODI’s in the last 10 One day matches they played. Their performance against the cricket giants is poor, but formidable against the minnows.
Bangladesh Key Players
Tamim Iqbal– The southpaw is the biggest threat to every nation playing in the Asia Cup. Unlike, sporadically acclaimed Bangladesh batting line up, his consistency speaks volume and a warning for the opposition. In his last 3 ODI’s, he has scored 2 hundreds and 1 fifties.
Sakib Al Hasan– He is like an old wine. The older it gets, the better it tastes. You cannot keep the all-rounder out the game for long. If he fails with bat, contributes to the team with hawk-eye fielding and magical spin bowling. The Bangladesh team heavily relies on his all-round performance.
Mashrafe Mortaza– The Narail Express is the first genuine fast bowler produced by the Bangladesh cricket. He is aggressive, enthusiastic and a nightmare to face. Till date he has taken 245 wickets in 190 matches ODI matches played till date at a healthy average of 31.
This is the second of Mashrafe Mortaza as a captain. He is leading the side for the last 3 years. Till date he has captained 58 ODI’s and has won 32 matches out of it.
Bangladesh Playing XI
Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
Afghanistan Recent Performance
Afghanistan is seen as a next cricket sensation. They want to make every penny count. Like their neighbor countries, they are mad about the sport and aspire to participate actively in international cricket. It took them 20 long years to excel at the international stage.
The team is a hot property among bookies. They have defeated Bangladesh twice in one day internationals. They won their last 3 ODI’s against Ireland and looking forward to carry on the winning streak by defeating the Bangladesh.
Afghanistan Key Players
Mohammad Shahzad– Mohammad Shahzad is one of the finest stroke makers in the cricket world. He is amongst the few players to score a century in T20 cricket. With a lot of gunpowder and fire power in him, the batsman can derail any pace battery within 15 minutes. He already has 4 ODI hundreds and 12 fifties under his name. He is equally worthy behind the wickets too.
Rashid Khan– Rashid Khan is seen as a new Shane Warne by the cricket fraternity. Like his hero, he wins the game single handedly for his team. He is the fastest bowler to take 100 wickets in One Day cricket. He is hungry and eager to hunt Bangladeshi batsmen.
Afghanistan Playing XI
Asghar Afghan (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmat Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Aftab Alam, Samiullah Shinwari, Munir Ahmad Kakar (wk), Sayed Ahmad Sherzad, Sharafudin Ashraf, Wafadar
Asia Cup 2018: India vs Pakistan Match Preview, Prediction, Expected Playing XI’s
Weather Conditions
The match will be played at the Abu Dhabi cricket stadium. The pitch is dry with no lateral movements. The spectators called it the bowler’s graveyard. The 300+ score in on the cards, both the team have a strong batting line up. Although, the pitch assist the spinners.
