Bangladesh
Afghanistan
In match number 4 of the ongoing Asia Cup, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will come face to face at the Gaddafi Stadium. In the last 5 ODI matches, both teams have displayed fierce competition against each other as Afghanistan has won thrice and Bangladesh has won twice.
Bangladesh started their tournament with a loss against Sri Lanka. They will be looking forward to making a comeback in their 2nd fixture.
Afghanistan will be hoping to start their tournament on a positive note. The team looks well-balanced and prepared for the whole tournament. The top bookmakers in India have Asia Cup odds with them.
BangladeshAfghanistanThe decision to bat first after winning the toss turned out to be wrong. Mohammad Naim and Tanzid Hasan lost their wickets at an early stage but it was Najmul Hossain Shanto, who handled the innings by scoring 89 off 122 balls at a strike rate of 72.95. The primary concern for the team management will be the disappointing performance of the middle order.
The bowling unit started well but lost control as the bowl started getting old. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan picked up 2 wickets at an economy of 2.90 but all other ballers failed to control the run rate of the opposition.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan will be expecting a better performance from the batting lineup. They will go unchanged.
Predicted Lineup: Mehidy Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mustafizur Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Naim Sheikh, Taskin Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy
Before coming for the Asia Cup, Afghanistan lost an ODI series against Pakistan by 3-0. However, they will be confident enough to play their best game against Bangladesh. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Riaz Hasan, and Ibrahim Zadran will be expected to give the team a good start with the bat.
Hashmatullah Shahidi and Shahidullah will be handling the situation in the middle order. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be responsible for the spin attack with Fareed Ahmad & Fazalhaq Farooqi in the pace department.
Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi will be confident to give his team a positive start in the first match.
Predicted Lineup: Hashmatullah Shahidi, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Nabi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Riaz Hassan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Shahidullah Kamal, Gulbadin Naib
We are in for an absolute thriller as both teams are evenly matched and have developed a fierce rivalry in recent times. However, Afghanistan has the upper hand because Bangladesh has always failed to make an impact on foreign pitches. We predict a win for Afghanistan on Sunday.
