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

🏏Asia Cup 2023: M4: BD vs AFG at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on 03/09/2023 at 3PM IST 🏏

ODI cricket has been Bangladesh's strongest suit for a while. Especially in subcontinental conditions, Bangladesh definitely pose a threat in this format. Given Sri Lanka were also depleted bowling wise, not many expected Bangladesh to cave in so easily in their first game of the campaign. The nature of the tournament is such where one loss could put you on the brink of elimination. And now, that demoralising loss in their first game has already ensured Bangladesh are in a must-win situation.

A loss against Afghanistan on Sunday (September 3) will knock them out of the competition and not even reaching the Super 4 stages can have an adverse effect just before the World Cup next month.

Batting will be Bangladesh's primary concern. Sri Lanka's spinners handled the Bangladesh top order and then Matheesha Pathirana took over from the halfway mark. Going by the recent record in international games staged in Lahore, batting might not be that easy once again for the men in green. And to make matters worse, they will be up against a formidable spin trio.

Bangladesh can still take solace from the fact that they beat Afghanistan in their last three encounters when they hosted them in July. However, it was Afghanistan who came out on top in the ODI series which once again highlights the progress they have been making on the international stage given not many teams topple Bangladesh in their own den. Their confidence has also taken a bit of a beating after they lost 3-0 to Pakistan very recently but a win here will help them turn things around with a place in the next round of the Asia Cup guaranteed.

Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Match Details:

Match: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Match 4, Group B, Asia Cup 2023

Date and Time: September 3 2023, Sunday, 3 pm IST

Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Pitch Report

The surface at the Gaddafi Stadium is good for batting. We have seen in the past that the batters enjoy batting here and the bowlers often tend to miss their mark. The spinners, though, will play a key role while bowling here.

Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Weather Forecast

The conditions will be ideal for a game of cricket in Lahore on Sunday, with temperatures expected to range between 26 and 38 degrees Celsius.

Pitch and conditions

Clear blue skies are expected in Lahore at the start of the encounter, with the temperature likely to be around the 25-degree mark as the evening kicks in. There is no forecast for rain. Batters have made merry at the Gaddafi Stadium in recent times. Scores of 300 were breached in three of the six innings when Australia visited for an ODI series last year. More recently, in April this year, New Zealand and Pakistan also played a number of high-scoring T20Is here.

Rashid Khan (L) and Shakib Al Hasan (R).

Team News

Bangladesh

Despite the shoddy batting effort, Bangladesh will not be looking to tinker a lot for this important fixture. It will be interesting to see if Anamul Haque gets a go in place of Tanzid Hasan who made a duck on debut.

Probable XI: 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

Afghanistan

The Afghanistan side is pretty settled as well. The call will have to be taken on the third pacer.

Probable XI: 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

In the spotlight: Ibrahim Zadran and Shakib Al Hasan

Ibrahim Zadran has had a stellar start to his ODI career. In just 17 innings, he has scored three half-centuries and four centuries, all of which have come since June 2022. With 827 runs in 16 ODIs at 59.07, Ibrahim is the highest run-getter for Afghanistan since the start of 2022.

The spotlight is often on Shakib Al Hasan during a Bangladesh game but there will be especially high expectations from him on Sunday. He's been consistently effective with the ball, but Bangladesh will need Shakib the batter to come good. While he does not have a great record against Afghanistan, he has enough experience playing their bowlers in internationals as well as in franchise cricket, and will need to bring all of that out into play to guide a young unit.

Stats and trivia

• Since the start of 2022, Bangladesh pacers' collective bowling average (23.63) in the first ten overs is only behind Australia (23.06) among Full Member teams.
• Since January 2022, Mustafizur has picked up only 21 wickets in 22 ODIs, averaging 36.04, which is the worst among Bangladesh bowlers to have picked up ten-plus wickets in this period.
• Afghanistan have played only 27 ODIs since the start of August 2019, the fewest among all Full Member nations.

Originally posted by: Deltablues

Allo Allo

Did you know:

- Fazalhaq Farooqi picked 14 wickets in 6 ODIs against Bangladesh

- Taskin Ahmed in ODIs in 2023 - 13 wickets in 8 matches

Thanks for taking me but I am a bit confused are they playing in all the Asian countries ?

Originally posted by: Savera84

Stats and trivia

• Since the start of 2022, Bangladesh pacers' collective bowling average (23.63) in the first ten overs is only behind Australia (23.06) among Full Member teams.
• Since January 2022, Mustafizur has picked up only 21 wickets in 22 ODIs, averaging 36.04, which is the worst among Bangladesh bowlers to have picked up ten-plus wickets in this period.
• Afghanistan have played only 27 ODIs since the start of August 2019, the fewest among all Full Member nations.