Bangladesh v Afghanistan, 2nd ODI Preview: Afghanistan look to erase heartache

After having suffered a narrow defeat in their first ODI, revenge will be a priority on the mind of the Afghanistan players who will take the field against the Bangladeshis in the second ODI scheduled to take place at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka.

However, with England series looming over the horizon, it seems quite clear that Mashrafe Mortaza will want his side to be in perhaps the best frame of mind before taking on the Brits. Moreover, the fact of the matter would most certainly be that he would want his players to start reaching their best possible form.

With the Dhaka wicket expected to provide assistance for spinners as well as a substantial amount of dew in the latter stages of the match, a mouthwatering encounter is most certainly expected on the cards when these two take on each other in a head-on collision.

Team Analysis:

Bangladesh

Bangladesh enters the encounter ahead of Afghanistan by a win in the 3-match series. Having claimed a seven-run win in the first ODI, Mashrafe Mortaza, and his men will be weary of the threat their opposition will carry. However, in spite of that, this will still be treated as somewhat of a practice match of sorts.

Tamim Iqbal was at his fluid best when he smashed the ball to different parts of the stadium en route to a well-compiled 80. Mahmudullah also impressed with a well-made 62 while Shakib-Al-Hasan and Imrul Kayes made decent contributions. The Bangladesh management will be hoping that these players reprise their roles in the upcoming match.

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In spite of all this, the spotlight will be on the returning Taskin Ahmed. Although Taskin was restricted to just 8 overs in the first match, he was highly successful as he picked 4 important wickets. However, he still managed to concede almost 7 runs in an over, something he will have to work on should he get back to his best.

Afghanistan

As mentioned earlier, the first ODI was a quintessential heartbreak as far as Afghanistan was concerned. They clearly played their heart out and got to within 7 runs of the target that had been set for them by the hosts. However, luck and a few acrimonious incidents saw them lose their way quite a bit towards the end.

In spite of that, the Afghans will be pleased with the way Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi came to the fore with a partnership worth 144 runs. However, they did not receive the support from the rest of their batsmen as they were blasted out shortly after the partnership, losing wickets in a hurry after that.

While Asghar Stanikzai will be hoping that Shahidi and Shah forge the similar partnership that they did in the previous game, he will also be hoping that the other batsmen in the lineup will contribute to the team’s cause in the upcoming encounter.

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Playing XI (Probable)

Bangladesh:

Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain

Afghanistan:

Asghar Stanikzai (C), Mohammad Shahzad (WK), Shabir Noor, Rahmat Shah, Hasmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Mirwais Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq

Match Details:

September 28, 2016
Start time 1430 local (0830 GMT)
Venue: Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka

StAttack:

1. Noor Ali Zadran requires 59 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs.

2. Mushfiqur Rahim requires 74 runs to complete 4000 ODI runs. If he does complete this feat, he will become the third batsman to achieve the feat.

3. Samiulla Shenwari requires 7 wickets to complete 50 ODI wickets.