The second ODI between Afghanistan and Bangladesh will be played on 9th November at Sharjah.
Match Preview:
As of now Afghanistan leads the three-match ODI series as they snatched the game from the jaws of defeat. At one point it was thought Afghanistan would lose as the Bangladesh batters were scampering through a total of 235 with ease but then something unexpected happened.
Allah Ghazanfar stunned the Bengal batters and took six wickets to wrap up the chase for the side and handed his side 92-run victory over visitors.
The captain lauded the youngster and said “ He has a bright future ahead”
Even though they won the first ODI, their batting woes need to be addressed. During the 1st ODI, the top-order cut the sorry figure and it was due to the half-century of the captain and Mohammad Nabi, their side was able to put up a modest total on the board considering the situation.
Afghanistan will be hoping that Rahmnaullah Gurbaz should take the charge from the get go as he did against South Africa. In the bowling unit, the side will be relying on their spin department as without a doubt, spin is their strength.
Talking about Bangladesh, they are facing a horrible time in international cricket right now. It feels like nothing is working for them. After that Test series against Pakistan, they were yet to win a match as they suffered horrible series losses against India and South Africa.
Their bowling unit did well to rest Afghanistan to a modest total but a collapse was triggered when the batting side looked easy to gun down the total. Nevertheless, Mehidy Miraz was hopeful that the side could beat Afghanistan, ahead of the second ODI.
“We’ve beaten Afghanistan many times before. We won our first World Cup match against them, and we’ve beaten them in a series at home. Losing one match doesn’t mean everything is over. In international cricket, every team is of high quality, and no team should be underestimated. We’re trying our best. One bad match doesn’t erase our efforts. The wicket didn’t behave as expected, and the set batters should have taken responsibility.”
Mehidy acknowledged that the pitch became tougher to bat on after the 20 overs but he was hopeful that the side could make a comeback and set up an interesting decider.
Pitch and weather condition:
The weather will be warm and sunny and as for the pitch, it is expected to spin as it was in the 1st ODI of the series. Any captain who wins the toss will look to bat first and anything above than 250 can be a match-winning total.
Head-to-head record:
A total of 17 games have been played between these sides. Bangladesh have won 10 games while Afghanistan stood victorious in 7 of these games.
Predictions:
Given their recent performances, Afghanistan are favourite to win the match
Where to watch:
Afghanistan: Etisalat
Bangladesh: Toffee
Pakistan: Tapmad
India: FanCode app and website
