PRE MATCH ANALYSIS
Follow UsThe Asia Cup bandwagon moves on, and we move to Lahore for the fourth game of the tournament. Afghanistan will be itching to set the ball rolling, while Bangladesh will want to right the wrongs from their first game in Pallekele.
Having packed their top-4 with four left-handers, they crawled their way to 164 against Pakistan - all thanks to Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 89. However, they would be disappointed that despite batting till #9, no one else crossed the 20-run mark. They have to win the next game to stay alive in the tournament.
Afghanistan have been dealt a huge blow with the loss of all their first-XI pacers to injuries. They’ll be relying on their frontline spinners Mujeeb ur Rahman and Rashid Khan to help them put a tight leash on the Bangladeshi batters.
Things to watch out for
Afghan top-order
The Afghan top-order has been over-reliant on Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the recent past. This year, the opening pair has scored 49% of all runs scored by Afghanistan. Moreover, they are the only two batters to average above 40, with the next best being 34 by #7 batter Azmatullah Omarzai.
Such skewed numbers could hurt the team, with their early dismissals significantly hampering the team’s scoring potential. The likes of Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah being amongst the runs will ensure that their bowlers have a respectable score to defend.
Mujeeb could be a danger
An LHB-heavy Bangladeshi top-order was blown away by Maheesh Theekshana’s wizardry in their previous fixture. He conceded only 19 runs in his eight overs, with only nine runs coming in the powerplay.
This time around, they will have to contend with Mujeeb’s finger spin. His ability to turn the ball both ways at will could force their top-order to go into a shell while playing him in the initial overs. The lack of pacers means that Mujeeb will most likely take the new ball with Fazalhaq Farooqui. It’ll be interesting to see how their openers tackle him in Lahore.
Pitch and Conditions
This will be the first Asia Cup fixture in Lahore, and going by what we’ve seen in the PSL, pacers will be licking their lips at the thought of bowling here. The conditions will be on the hotter side, with the temperatures to be consistently above 35 degrees throughout the day. Thankfully, no rain is expected.
Tactical Nous
Having a one-dimensional top-order does not help. They can look to bring in Towhid Hridoy at #3, and delay the entry points of Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan. This could be one way of countering Mujeeb, and Towhid’s aggression could also help them up the scoring rate in the powerplay.
Probable XIs
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gulbadin Naib/Karim Janat, Mohammad Saleem Safi.
Bangladesh: Mohammad Naim, Tanzid Hasan/Anamul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.
