Afghanistan faced a heartbreaking defeat against Pakistan and is now set to face Bangladesh in a Super Four game of the Asia Cup 2018 on Sunday, September 23 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. The match is scheduled to start at 5:30 PM BST, 4:15 PM AFT.
The two teams have faced each other once already in this tournament during the group stages. Afghanistan had the better of Bangladesh in that match by 136 runs.
Afghanistan and the balance of their side
Afghanistan has not only been competitive in this tournament but has done extremely well, winning two games and losing one against Pakistan in a last over thriller.
In the last game, it seemed that they have opted to play with a bowler short.
With only five bowlers, Gulbadin Naib acted as the fifth bowler but gave away a few more runs than he should have. Najibullah Zadran hasn't done a lot in this tournament, so he might be out of the team as they fill in the gap with another all-rounder, who give the side an extra option of bowling. As per the article on ESPN Cricinfo, they might change their bowling attack a bit for this crucial game.
Bangladesh with some serious concerns
Tamim Iqbal's absence at the top has hit Bangladesh badly. The openers haven't really fired, which forced them to bring back Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes in the squad. While Sarkar might get a direct call-up for the XI, Kayes is expected to stay on the bench.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, Rubel Hossain might be left out in favor of Abu Hider Rony, which leaves Bangladesh with two changes ahead of this game.
The Abu Dhabi pitch had been a bit one kind before the game between Pakistan and Afghanistan on Thursday. Afghanistan has now played three games on this track, and have almost got accustomed to it.
Batting first would still on the mind of the captain who wins the toss. The weather hasn't changed at all in Abu Dhabi and is expected to be hot and dry as always.
Read: Asia Cup Super-Four: Pakistan v India live streaming on PTV Sports, Hotstar at 4 PM Sunday
Also read: Bangladesh vs India online streaming on Star Sports at 5 PM on Friday
