Bangladesh and Afghanistan are among those teams that are not among contenders for the top four in the view of cricket analysts. But they have come here with their ambitions and will look to leave no stone unturned. If both teams ever want to make some noise at such a stage, then these are the conditions they will ask for. If Bangladesh and Afghanistan want to surprise the cricketing fraternity with their performances, then their first task will be to outstrip each other. In a quest to start their World Cup 2023 journey on a winning note, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will face off against each other in the 3rd match of the tournament at the scenic Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium at Dharamsala on the 7th of October morning.
Bangladesh
Amidst the Shakib-Tamim saga which saw the latter missing out on the World Cup squad, Bangladesh will look to turn focus with the job in hand. They are an experienced batting side which have veterans like Shakib Al Hasan, Musfiq Rahim and Mahumudullah in their ranks. But the problem is that none of their batsmen have shown the tendency to play big innings in recent years, which is evident by the fact that since the conclusion of the last World Cup, none of their batsmen average in excess of 40 with the exception of Musfiqur Rahim. This thing has been the salient reason why Bangladesh seems to struggle on the batting front and has been losing games because their fine bowling attack does not get enough scores from their batters.
In the last few months, Bangladesh has beaten India 3 out of 4 ODIs. Apart from that, they were very good in the Warm-up games played ahead of the tournament. It will be interesting to see if the likes of Tanzid Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz can continue from where they left off in practice matches.
Afghanistan
With a solitary win in 15 World Cup games, Afghanistan has nothing to lose and everything to achieve. Predominately a spin-heavy side has seen the emergence of some good batters in their lineup. Likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have 5 and 4 centuries to their name in 26 & 19 games respectively. 21-year-old Ibrahim Zadran boasts an average of 53.58 after scoring 911 runs, and he is the only player from Afghanistan to have an ODI average in excess of 40. The recently concluded Asia Cup was the witness of Afghanistan’s upswing in the batting department when they all but chased Sri Lanka’s target of 291 within 37.1 overs.
After a washout against South Africa in the warm-up match, Afghanistan has beaten SL comprehensively with the help of stroke filled century by Gurbaz.
In bowling, they have the third-best average and best economy rate among participating teams in this World Cup since the conclusion of the previous World Cup. Many of their bowlers have the experience of playing in Indian conditions, and they can be expected to deliver good performances with the ball in hand.
Probable XIs :-
Bangladesh :
Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan(C), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(WK), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman
Afghanistan :
Rahmanullah Gurbaz(WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(C), Nazibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ajmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Farooqi, Naveen Ul Haq
Interesting match-ups:
Fazal Haq Farooqi vs Bangladesh top order will be a great contest as evidenced by the fact that in 7 matches Farooqi played against Bangladesh, he has taken at least one wicket inside powerplay 5 times, with 2 wickets on three occasions.
Interesting facts and stats:
⦁ In two meetings between the two teams in the World Cup, Bangladesh has won both times.
⦁ Bangladesh has the best bowling average among participating teams in this World Cup since the conclusion of the World Cup 2019.
⦁ Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran need 42 and 89 runs respectively to complete 1000 runs in ODI cricket.
Match Particulars
Date- 7th October, 2023
Time- 10:30 AM IST
Venue- Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
Predictions:
Toss- Out of 4 ODIs played here, the team batting first has been bundled out by the opposition three times, with the chasing team getting past the target successfully. So, the team winning the toss is expected to bowl first without a second thought.
Weather- Clear and Sunny weather throughout the day with 52% humidity and temperature hovering between 19 and 26 degrees.
Winning Chances
Bangladesh- 50%
Afghanistan- 50%
Dream XI fantasy team:
