||Desk Report||

Bangladesh are facing Afghanistan for the second time in the ongoing Asia Cup. Unlike the previous face-off, this clash will decide which team between the two will stay alive in the tournament, as both of them have been defeated in their respective first Super Four clashes.

Afghanistan are currently at the third position in the points table after losing a close contest against Pakistan on September 21.

On the other hand, fourth-placed Bangladesh’s batting performance have reached a nadir with in-form opener Tamim Iqbal ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.

Winning the toss, Bangladesh opted to bat first at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi

The Tigers appear to be making clueless on-and-off the field movements. Starting with two sudden call-ups, they have also tinkered with their batting line-up. Imrul Kayes hasn’t featured in the top-order of the Tigers and Mohammad Mithun was promoted up the order at number three after opener Nazmul Hossain gave away his wicket to Aftab Alam for 6 runs.

Mithun, too, maintained Bangladesh’s streak of losing a minimum of two wickets in the powerplay in this tournament and was trapped lbw by Mujeeb Ur Rahman for 1 run.

Liton Das tried to weather the storm along with Mushfiqur Rahim, but their 63-run stand came to an end as Rashid Khan dismissed the opener for 41. Shakib Al Hasan then fell victim to a run out in the same over before opening his account.

Despite a good stand in the middle, Bangladesh are again in a fragile position, paying the price for their batsmen’s mistakes. Mushfiqur, on 31, will now look to stitch another effective partnership with the new batsman in, Imrul Kayes.

 

Score

BAN - 82/4 (20 Overs)