🏏Asia Cup 2023: M4: BD vs AFG at Lahore on 03/09/2023 at 3PM IST 🏏 - Page 3

Bangladesh have won the toss and have opted to bat

Shakib Al Hasan: We will bat first. It looks a good wicket and keeping the weather in mind, it is very hot. We have three changes. We didn't execute with the bat and that was our downfall, but today is a new day and a good wicket, hopefully we put up a good score on the board.

Hashmatullah Shahidi: We would have batted first as well. Quite excited, we have a lot of crowd and supporters here. The preparation was quite good, we had a series against Pakistan and we have been here for the last one week. Two seam all rounders, one seamer, three spinners and rest of them are batters.

Pitch Report: "This is generally a high scoring venue. But there might be something in it for the bowlers. The surface might get slower as the ball gets older and Afghanistan have three spinners which will be an advantage. The surface will be baked under the sun and should aid the spinners," reckons Deep Dasgupta.

Teams:

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Mohammad Naim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

So the interesting bit of team news is that Mehidy seems to be opening, at least that's what it said on the Bangladesh team sheet.

Yesterday was a bit of a dampener as the marquee clash of this Asia Cup - India v Pakistan - was washed out due to rain in Pallekele. But there's no threat of rain today as the action shifts to Lahore where Bangladesh take on Afghanistan. Bangladesh lost their opening day to Sri Lanka and need to win this to stay alive in this tournament. The 50-over format is their strongest suite and they would be disappointed if they don't make it to the Super Fours. And it is not going to be easy as Afghanistan recently beat them 2-1 in their own den. Hello and welcome..

"After seeing previous matches of this Asia Cup I think it's really worse decision to bat first whatever the pitch seems to be." --- Considering how hot it currently is in Lahore, feel like this might be the game to buck that trend. Batting after fielding 50 overs in this heat will not be easy.

It was Bangladesh's batting which let them down against Sri Lanka and it is not just one game, the three previous times they have batted first in ODIs, they have failed to cross 200. That is a big worry and none of the batters have shown application to bat long. Nazmul Shanto was the only bright spot for them in the previous game and the other batters need to step up. Tamim is a miss at the top of the order but the lack of big scores from Shakib and Rahim has been a concern in recent games. Can the senior pros step up with the bat?

Afghanistan are an ever improving ODI side and proof of that is their direct qualification to this year's World Cup. They have a gun bowling attack with almost all bases covered. Their openers Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have been in-form and getting the big scores. The only problem is their middle order, the likes of Rahmat Shah, Shahidi and Najibullah have not contributed which in turn has cost them a few games. If the trio can get back among the runs then Afghanistan can give any team a run for their money especially with that bowling attack. Toss and teams coming up.. Stay tuned