Bangladesh and Afghanistan will start their tournament with their first match to be played at HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala on 7th October 2023. It promises to be an exciting battle between these two sides. Both sides met during the recently concluded Asia Cup 2023 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore where Bangladesh registered a thumping 89-run win over Afghanistan.
Both teams have top-quality players that can change the course of the game and create pressure on each other. Bangladesh and Afghanistan met a total of 15 times with Bangladesh winning 9 times while Afghanistan registered 6 wins.
Here we look at the 5 Players To Watch Out For
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Rahmanullah Gurbaz is an attacking batter who puts pressure on the opponent bowlers right from the word go. He has been in excellent form and hits attacking shots in the first 10 overs which makes the captain think on his feet. He got out cheaply when these two teams met in Asia Cup 2023.
Gurbaz would look to put pressure on the Bangladesh bowlers in the first 10 overs and help Afghanistan register victory either batting first or chasing down the target.
His role is to provide a positive start with Ibrahim Zadran and make sure that Afghanistan registers victory over Bangladesh. Gurbaz has played 7 ODI matches versus Bangladesh and with best score of 145. Gurbaz would look to replicate his form with another superb knock.
- Najmul Hasan Shanto
The left-handed Najmul Hasan Shanto looked a class apart with a superb century against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2023 match at Lahore. He looked in sensational touch putting pressure on the bowlers with positive intent and not allowing them to settle.
He will look to showcase his class against the Afghanistan bowlers, especially the spin trio of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, and Mohammad Nabi. Shanto has the habit of scoring big runs and would look to do the same against Afghanistan in tomorrow’s match. Coming at number 3, Shanto will look to consolidate the position if the openers give a start or make sure that his contributions would help Bangladesh register victory.
- Mohammad Nabi
The experienced Mohammad Nabi will play a key role for Afghanistan coming lower down the order and putting pressure on Bangladesh bowlers. He put on an excellent display of hitting during the last Group game against Sri Lanka where he smashed 65 in quick time helping Afghanistan to recover and almost putting pressure on Lankan bowlers.
He would look to contribute with both bat and ball. Nabi has done well in the middle overs to restrict the opponent and make sure that the opponent does not rotate the strike. Nabi would be eager to showcase his class with the bat.
Depending upon the situation, Nabi would look to do the job and Afghanistan register victory over Bangladesh at Dharamshala. He has batted in 12 ODI innings against Bangladesh with highest score of 49. Nabi would look to improve his performance and make sure that Afghanistan registers a victory over Bangladesh. On the bowling front, Nabi has taken 14 wickets from 14 innings at an economy of 3.97 runs per over.
- Shakib AL Hasan
The experienced Shakib AL Hasan is another important player for Bangladesh in tomorrow’s match against Afghanistan. He has proven his worth with both and the ball for a quite long time.
Shakib AL Hasan has a decent record in batting against Afghanistan in ODI format. He has batted in 10 matches (10 innings) and scored 288 runs with best score of 63. In the bowling department, Shakib has taken 23 wickets from 10 matches at an economy of 4.42 runs per over with best figures of 5 for 29.
Bangladesh needs the experienced Shakib AL Hasan to deliver the goods with both bat and ball making sure that they start with a win ahead of the tough matches ahead.
- Rashid Khan
The star leg spinner Rashid Khan has not had a great outing in One-day international cricket off late. He looked out of colour during the 2023 Asia Cup picking up just 2 wickets in 2 matches he bowled against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
He has a decent record in One-day internationals against Bangladesh picking up a total of 19 wickets from 12 matches going at an economy of 3.91 runs per over and best figures of 3 for 35. Rashid Khan had a disappointing outing when these two teams met in Asia Cup 2023.
Rashid Khan would look to provide wickets in the middle overs and put a brake on Bangladeshi batting making life tough for them.
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