Asia Cup 2018: Super Four, Match 4, Match Prediction - Who will win the match, Afghanistan or Bangladesh?

Whilst Afghanistan can take heart from how they fought against Pakistan, Bangladesh’s hopes of winning the Asia Cup were dented badly after a horrendous performance against India. Both these sides have some catching up to do and this certainly will be a battle of survivals for these highly-spirited teams.

A lot of things went wrong for Afghanistan against Pakistan, mistakes which so easily could’ve been avoided. But these are the invaluable lessons which will help a team grow in stature and there’s certainly a lot of scope for improvement.

Bangladesh got it all wrong against India and failed to execute any of their plans. For them to bounce back now seems an unlikely possibility, but we have seen in the past how Mashrafe Mortaza’s troops have showcased their never-say-die attitude.

Pitch

Bangladesh will travel from Dubai to Abu Dhabi for this encounter and it’ll be interesting to see if fatigue comes into play. The pitches seem far too tired after hosting so many matches in such a short span and for the fast bowlers, they cannot expect any returns from the track.

Playing Combinations

Afghanistan

Mohammad Shahzad and Ihsanullah Janat will take guard to initiate the innings for the Afghans. Coming in at number three will be the in-form Rahmat Shah with Asghar Afghan, Hasmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi following him.

The heart and soul of this bowling attack is their spin bowling duo of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan. The Tigers will have a torrid time attempting to survive through their 20 overs. Gulabadin Naib, Aftab Alam, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi are the other bowling options for the skipper Asghar Afghan.

Predicted XI

Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam

Bangladesh

With Tamim Iqbal being sidelined, Imrul Kayes will be opening alongside Soumya Sarkar and following him in the middle order is the experienced Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Mohammad Mithun.

Mustafizur Rahman’s bowling variations will be Mortaza’s go-to option when in need. Mehidy Hasan will be hogging a lot of limelight given there’s any grip offered by the track. Skipper Mashrafe and Rubel Hossain will be taking up the new ball duties.

Predicted XI

Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

Probable Top Performers

Mustafizur Rahman – Bangladesh | Mujeeb Ur Rahman – Afghanistan

The prediction is for Afghanistan to register their second-straight victory over the Tigers.