Match Preview – Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023/24, 3rd Match

by

Big picture: Bangladesh, Afghanistan want to move on from crises, drama

Afghanistan has been aggressive towards Bangladesh for most of the last decade. This year alone, they are tied 2-2 after Afghanistan won the bilateral ODI series 2-1 in Chattogram, but were later beaten by Bangladesh. Good margin in Asia Cup, The two groups of players respect each other. It’s cordial there. But the gloves will be off for both the teams in the first match of the World Cup in Dharamsala on Saturday.

Bangladesh are coming off a 2-0 series loss against New Zealand at home, having also won only two matches in the Asia Cup, where they could not make it to the finals. There was a lot of drama outside the field Shakib Al Hasan destroyed Tamim Iqbal The day Bangladesh left for India for the World Cup.

There is a lot of talk about left-handed opening batsman Tanzeed as Bangladesh have selected only two regular openers in him and Liton Das. However, this year Bangladesh’s all-weather batsman Mehdi Hasan Miraz may open against Afghanistan, as he did for some time in the Asia Cup. Mehdi has shown excellent form this year with both bat and ball and the pace attack under Taskin Ahmed has also performed well. He has shown that Bangladesh no longer needs to rely on their spinners in the subcontinent, no matter what the format.

Bangladesh will want to stop relying too much on players like Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim, playing their fifth World Cup, and Mahmudullah, playing their fourth tournament. Their future depends on it.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan has its own demons to deal with. may be their biggest concern Lack of ODI matches in the last four years, They are well below the average for countries participating in the World Cup. As they often do in major tournaments, Afghanistan have brought back experienced players to their squad and traveling reserves.

A lot will depend on how their spin trio Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman perform. His batting also needs to improve in big tournaments. The fact that Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have been in good form this year and Rahmat Shah, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Nabi have also done well bodes well for them.

However, Afghanistan will have to shed the tag of underperforming in major tournaments. They no game won In the 2019 World Cup, while in the recent Asia Cup, they Choked against Sri Lanka In the most pathetic way. They would like to avoid these pitfalls on the biggest stage.

form guide

afghanistan LLLLLL (last five ODIs, most recent first)
bangladesh LLWLL

In the spotlight: Afghan opener and floater Mehdi

Everyone talks about Afghanistan’s spinners, but they want you to know that their opening batsman Are also impressive. Zadran and Gurbaz are their top two run-scorers this year, and they are the most likely pair to add a half-century or century partnership in a line-up where the batting has not always given them the best numbers. Like fire and ice: Gurbaz provides the big hits and Zadran leads the innings with regular strike rotation. Zadran is also capable of delivering big hits, emerging as one of their brightest stars since the 2019 World Cup.

mehdi hassan meraz Has batted at four different places this year. In the two practice matches, he scored confident half-centuries against Sri Lanka and England at No. 3 and 4 respectively. he batted unbeaten 112 runs against Afghanistan As an opening batsman in the Asia Cup, he may open the innings again on Saturday. The team management believes that he is particularly good at thwarting mystery spinners like Mujeeb.

Team News: Naveen and Umarzai are expected to arrive

Afghanistan last played in the Asia Cup and have since dropped Gulbadin Naib and Karim Janat, who should be replaced by Azmatullah Omarzai and Naveen-ul-Haq.

afghanistan (Probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Azmatullah Umarzai, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rehman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqui

Bangladesh have ten players to choose from but will have to choose between left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed and offspinner Mahedi Hasan for the eighth spot.

bangladesh (Probable): 1 Tanjeed Hasan, 2 Liton Das, 3 Nazmul Hussain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (captain), 5 Tauheed Hridoy, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mehdi Hasan Miraj, 8 Nasum Ahmed/Mahedi Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Hasan Mahmood

pitch and conditions

India collapsed at 29 runs for 7 wickets last odi It was held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Ground six years ago. It suggests swing and seam movement for beginners. However, big scores have been scored in the two IPL matches held here this year. The weather is expected to be pleasant in the hill town.

Stats and Trivia: Bangladesh on the cusp of a three-peat

  • Bangladesh have a chance to win their third consecutive first match of the World Cup campaign after defeating Afghanistan (2015) and South Africa (2019). Afghanistan has lost its first two matches in the last World Cup.
  • Shakib Al Hasan needs 41 more runs to top the list of all-rounders with 1000 runs and 10 wickets in the world cup, He already has 34 wickets, which is free and clear for the next best in the same list.
  • Afghanistan’s 29 ODI appearances over the past four years are the lowest among all the teams participating in this year’s World Cup.

Citation

“I think there are four or five players from that (Under-19) team that won the World Cup in 2020. They will bring a lot of positivity to the group. They have done that in the past. They have a lot of energy. I am excited about it. ” The entire team including my staff. “We have high expectations and we want to have fun.”
Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha About players playing Senior World Cup for the first time

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

Leave a Comment