After a win in the first ODI, Afghanistan will look to continue their dominance as they rub shoulders against Bangladesh in the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram for the second ODI of the three-match bilateral series.
The home side suffered a big blow and will be without their captain, Tamim Iqbal for the remaining two ODIs. The 34-year-old announced his retirement just after the 1st ODI and it will be seen who succeeds him as the ODI skipper. During the One-off Test, it was Liton Das who was leading the side. But with the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim around, it will be a challenging decision for the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
The series plays a pivotal role for both sides as a preparatory measure ahead of the 2023 Asia Cup and Fifty Overs World Cup which slates in October-November, this year. This is the best time to manufacture a solid playing XI via trial and test method for the mega events on queue.
The first ODI between both teams was a run-affected encounter where the visitors reaped benefits due to their own catalytic performances. Winning the toss, Afghan captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi chose to bowl first.
After a brisk start of 30 runs between Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das, the former fell for 13 (21), nicking one off the outside edge to Rahmanullah Gurbaz off the bowling of Fazalhaq Farooqi. Liton played a few good strokes but failed to convert, falling for 26 (35). A few double-digit figures followed from Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib but none of the two could go past the 20s mark.
It was the young gun in Towhid Hridoy that stormed a half-century and hung around at one end. He was observative at the initial stages and carefully negated the spinners of Afghanistan. While wickets kept on tumbling from one end, Hridoy ended up with a half-century. The rain interrupted twice during the innings of Bangladesh and somehow they managed to secure 169-9 in a trimmed contest of 43 overs per side.
Fazalhaq Farooqi was the peak of the bowlers for the visitors finishing with figures of 3/24 in 8.4 overs. Unfortunately, he could not bowl his full over and left the ground perhaps due to a side strain. The Afghan spinners were frugal. Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan snapped two wickets each while Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai earned a solitary piece each. Saleem Safi, the rookie pacer had a poor outing with the ball, leaking runs in excess of 9.
The Afghan openers- Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, got off to a strong start, chasing a revised target of 164 for the win in 43 overs. The pair were watchful at the start against the likes of pace duo- Hasan Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman. They chalked the first 15 overs together, ticking up 54 runs for the first wicket.
Shakib, the returnee, made an impact straightaway in the game with the ball in hand. The left-arm spinner lured Gurbaz for a big shot and outsmarted him. Rahmat Shah, the deputy to Shahidi appeared in the scene for a minute interval of time before Taskin Ahmed got the better of him.
The Afghan skipper followed after the departure of two wickets. However, it was all class from Ibrahim who was inching towards a half-century when the rain popped up for the third time in the game and never eased off within the cut-off time. The scoreboard saw 83-2 and after a close inspection from the match officials, the DLS method settled the outcome in favor of the visitors as they seemed to be 17 runs ahead as per the algorithm.
What have they done so far?
The ongoing white ball series is a continuation of the One-off Test match played between Afghanistan and Bangladesh from June 14-17. The home side registered 382 and 425/4 (declare), to ask the Afghan unit to surmount a mammoth target of 662 runs. Eventually, the home side emerged victorious by a margin of 546 runs.
When it comes to the white-ball formats, Afghanistan is arriving on the back of a 2-1 drubbing against Sri Lanka in the 50-over format. Prior to this, they toppled an amateur Pakistan side 2-1 in a T20I series. On the other hand, Bangladesh tasted success during the ODI series against Ireland, eclipsing them 2-0.
Head-to-Head Record
Bangladesh and Afghanistan have squared up against one another on 12 occasions in the 50-over format. The former have emerged victorious seven times while the Afghans have triumphed five times. The recent win of Afghanistan in the first ODI breached the four-match winning streak of Bangladesh against the same opposition.
Key Players
Shakib Al Hasan: The veteran all-rounder has been one of the purest all-rounders in the globe for the last two decades. He has been phenomenal with the bat and ball in hand. And now as Shakib is coming off recapitulation of the finger injury, he will be more pumped up to contribute to his team’s cause.
The all-rounder has scored 312 runs from eight innings in 2023 in ODIs. He averages 39 with the bat in hand. When it comes to the bowling aspect, the left-arm spinner has scalped eight wickets that include a four-for.
Ibrahim Zadran and Rashid Khan during a practice session
Ibrahim Zadran: Talk about one of the best batters in the Afghanistan current cricket circuit and this is the name that strikes first. The right-handed batter has been ever-so-consistent for his national side for the past few years.
Ibrahim has stockpiled 215 runs in four innings thus far in the calendar year 2023. He averages 71.66. And guess what, the 21-year-old had an average of 71.83 in the ODI format last year. The numbers speak of how consistent he has been at the top of the order for his side.
Predicted XIs
Bangladesh: Liton Das (wk), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mohammed Naim, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sayed Shirzad, Izharulhaq Naveed
Prediction
The Afghanistan side was brilliant in all the departments in their last game against Bangladesh. While the home side will be rearing to bounce back, it won’t be very easy to slam the visitors. The momentum is with the Hashmatullah and his lads and the conditions are well-suited for them too. So, one can expect Afghanistan to come on top once again.