Tigers would like to continue winning against Afghans in the ICC tournament

Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan in their final match of the Super 8 stage aiming to keep alive their slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup on Tuesday at Kingstown in St Vincent as the match kicks off at 6.30am (BST) begins.

After losing two in a row to Australia and India, Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching the last four stages looked all but ended, but a stunning victory in Afghanistan over mighty Australia left them little hope, reports BSS.

However, there were many ifs and buts if Bangladesh wanted to reach the semi-finals. Firstly, Australia will have to taste defeat against India by a wide margin and Bangladesh will have to beat Afghanistan by a wide margin. Only then would Bangladesh be able to sneak into the semi-finals. If Australia beats India in a match to be held on Monday evening, Bangladesh will all but bow out of the race before taking on Afghanistan.

Even if Australia win, Bangladesh will be there to restore some pride as they look to get a win in the Super 8 stage. At the same time, Bangladesh’s victory will essentially destroy Afghanistan’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

A victory in Bangladesh seemed on the cards, even though Afghanistan was in top form. World Cup statistics show that Afghanistan has never won a match against Bangladesh in an ICC tournament, be it in 50-over or T20-over cricket. However, in the T20 World Cup, the two teams met only once in 2014 and Bangladesh won that match by nine wickets after bowling out Afghanistan by just 72 runs.

Overall, Afghanistan has a slim lead in the T20 format, winning six and losing five to Bangladesh in 11 encounters.

Afghanistan lost their first match to India by 47 runs but stunned Australia by 21 runs defending 148-6. The St. Vincent ground, where they defeated Australia, is also a lucky area for Bangladesh, mainly because of the slow nature that gave the Tigers a homely situation away from home.

Afghanistan have the bowling attack to thrive on the St Vincent pitch, which they showcased against Australia, but still Bangladesh would be the favourites. Bangladesh plays in this type of wicket domestically all year round and will therefore be further supported by the pitch.

In St. Vincent, Bangladesh won the match against Netherlands and Nepal to reach the Super 8 stage. However, they had to play their first two Super 8 matches in Antigua and as expected they showed no skill whatsoever on the real pitch. They lost the first match to Australia by 28 runs at DLS before suffering a 50-run defeat to India.

While Bangladesh mathematically still has a chance to reach the semi-finals, its all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan thinks otherwise. He wants to put up a good show against Afghanistan to end the tournament on a winning note.

“To be honest, I don’t think we have another chance to play the semi-finals after today’s defeat. But having said that, the next game will be a chance for us to get a win under our belt before we’re done.” this tournament,” Shakib said.

“We would like to end this tournament on a high. We have to face Afghanistan, who are a very good side, so we have to be at our best to beat them.”

Bangladesh’s first XI against India was heavily criticized and it is believed that they would tinker further with the side against Afghanistan.

Selection:

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam , Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Traveling Reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik.