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Where: Fatullah
When: 08.00 (GMT)
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Hosts Bangladesh will face off against Asia Cup new boys Afghanistan in what is a must-win game today if they are to have any hope of moving on in the tournament.
The hosts will also be cautious of an opponent that has little to lose. That said, it is also Bangladesh’s best chance to win their first game in 2014.
Mushfiqur Rahim’s team has had a horrible start to the year. They lost seven games across formats to Sri Lanka and then the Asia Cup opener to India.
They will face Afghanistan without Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza, who are injured, and the banned Shakib Al Hasan. There are concerns over Mushfiqur too; the Bangladesh captain was taken to hospital for scans on his shoulder after the game against India.
Anamul Haque’s form against India, though, was encouraging for Bangladesh but they will hope he can forge a strong opening stand with Shamsur Rahman after poor starts in the last four games. And whoever is in charge of the batting line-up must use Nasir Hossain and Naeem Islam properly.
Nasir has scored 69 runs in his last four innings – his first poor patch in international cricket – and Shakib’s replacement Naeem batted at the wrong time – the batting Powerplay – for his sort of game.
In Mashrafe’s absence, Abdur Razzak will need to play a central role the bowling attack, while the rest focus on economical ten-over spells. The fielding has also been shoddy of late and needs improvement.
Afghanistan have their own concerns after the game against Pakistan, though they performed creditably. Their batting fell away after the second-wicket partnership between Noor Ali Zadran and Asghar Stanikzai. That stand was a bit slow and pushed up the asking rate but such struggles are par for the course when an Associate takes on a Full Member. The captain Mohammad Nabi will be a threat, and Bangladesh’s bowlers have seen him attack during the Dhaka Premier League.
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