Afghanistan and Bangladesh will face each other in the final and third ODI of the ongoing series. The match will be played in Sharjah on 11th November.
Match Preview:
Bangladesh finally bounced back and won the second ODI of the series to set an exciting series decider at Sharjah. After losing the first ODI, Bangladesh showed a dominating performance in the second game with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto leading the charge scoring 76 off 119.
The batting was quite impressive from the Bengal Tigers as the top and lower order scored crucial and vital runs at a pitch like Sharjah. Jaker Ali and Nasum Ahmed were impressive in the lower-order.
Taskin and Mustafizur Rahman showed great performance and the spinner Mehidy Miraz was equally excellent. The side will hope that these players keep the key performance to win the series on 11th.
Bangladesh will be keen to win this series after facing a horrid time in the international cricket off late as they suffered losses against India and South Africa. Shanto will hold the key for this series win as he has been leading run-scorer for the side since 2023 in ODI and scored 123 runs in his last two outings. Mustafizur’s new ball spell will play an important role in the decider too.
Talking about Afghanistan, their top-order has always been their problem and yet again it was clear when Bangladesh bowlers rattled the stumps of their batsmen, cheaply.
If Afghanistan want to put up a show and win the series their batting unit needs to stand up. The skipper Shahidi also acknowledged that if they want to win, they will need to give their 100% in the next game.
Rashid Khan and Allah Ghazanfar will be the key players for the Afghanistan side as the former has an impressive record at Sharjah picking up 40 wickets and 10 maiden in 15 ODIS at the venue and the latter has been in red-hot form as he has picked up 6 wickets in this series so far at an average of 15.83.
“We don’t take any opposition for granted. We give our 100% in every game and every player knows about his role. We have been playing good cricket for the last 2 years. We know Bangladesh is a good side. If we want to win we will have to work hard”
Probable Playing XI:
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.
Afghanistan:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Allah Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Pitch and weather report:
It wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on as it was evident from the first two ODIs of the series. Spinners will play a key role and the pacers can be impactful with the new ball. Any captain who wins the toss should bat first and put a respectable total on the board as chasing on this ground that too in the decider won’t be an easy task.
Head-to-head record:
A total of 18 games have been played between these sides. Bangladesh have won 11 games while Afghanistan stood victorious in 7 of these games.
Prediction:
Although Bangladesh came on top against Afghanistan in the 2nd ODI, Afghanistan still has a commendable bowling department and especially spin department which can be unplayable on their day. Afghanistan is expected to win the 3rd ODI and get the series win over Bangladesh.
Where to watch:
Afghanistan: Etisalat
Bangladesh: Toffee
Pakistan: Tapmad
India: FanCode app and website
