T20I Tri-series, 2019: Final, Bangladesh vs Afghanistan – Statistical Preview

Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan in the final of the T20I series at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium later tonight. Bangladesh topped the league stage with three wins in four matches. Afghanistan, on the other hand, sealed their spot in the finals with back to back wins.

Later, they failed to defend scores twice in two matches and ended up on the losing side. In the process, their record winning streak also came to an end. The major blow for Afghanistan came in the final league match where their skipper Rashid Khan suffered hamstring and is a doubtful starter for the big match.

All the key stats and numbers ahead of the T20I Tri-series final in Dhaka:

0 – Bangladesh featured in two T20I finals – both against India and both resulted in defeats. Overall, Bangladesh played seven finals in International cricket and has lost six of those until they defeated West Indies during the final of the Ireland ODI Tri-series prior to the World Cup. They played four finals at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium (3 in ODIs, 1 in T20Is) and lost in all those four.

2-2 – Afghanistan’s win-loss record in the tournament finals with T20I status; all against Ireland. They won the 2010 WT20 Qualifier final and lost the same in 2012 and 2014 editions. They won the 2017 Desert T20 Challenge final by 10 wickets. Afghans also won the lone ODI final they played – against West Indies in the 2018 World Cup Qualifier final.

4-2 – Afghanistan leads the head to head record in the T20I format against Bangladesh. They lost their first-ever meeting in the 2014 WT20 and in the last league match on Saturday. They won four consecutive T20I matches against Bangladesh between these two losses that include a 3-0 whitewash.

5.29 – Rashid Khan’s economy rate in the T20 tournament finals. In four T20 finals, the leg-spinner conceded only 74 runs across 14 overs but has taken only two wickets. As a captain in T20s, Rashid led his team to win in the 2017 Shpageeza T20 tournament and finished as runners-up in the 2018 APL T20.

12 – In five T20Is against Bangladesh, the leg-spinner Rashid has claimed 12 wickets. He averages 8.25 with the ball and also has a 4-wicket haul to his name against them.

39 – Shakib Al Hasan has taken 39 wickets in the T20I format in Bangladesh; the joint-most T20I wickets by any bowler in a country. Rashid Khan in India and Lasith Malinga in Sri Lanka also have 39 wickets apiece in this format.

946 – Sabbir Rahman needs 54 more runs to become the 5th player to complete 1000 T20I runs for Bangladesh. Sabbir (2998) is also two runs away from completing 3000 runs in the Twenty20 format.