Afghanistan have had a memorable weekend full of joy, catharsis and the surreal feeling of exorcising ghosts of the past. Two days on, there’s potential to scale up another level.
Rashid Khan & Co. have played this World Cup like a side fiercely intending to hit a new gear, step onto an uncharted territory and make a giant stride like never before, even by their ever-progressing standards. They’ve had equally denting defeats along the way but they’ve topped that off with their greatest-ever win across formats.
The ensuing three-way tussle for the two vacant semifinal spots is tough but Afghanistan have a scheduling advantage. They go up against Bangladesh after India and Australia have fought it in their game, and will have the equation and the requirements laid out in front of them even before they step on the ground. A win for India or a washout makes it a win-and-qualify situation for them, but even if Australia manage to down India and they end up at the mercy of NRR, Afghanistan have shown enough gumption to pull off big-margin victories in this tournament.
Standing in their way are Bangladesh, who too will be chuffed with the progress they’ve managed in this tournament by reaching the Super-8s – ahead of Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal. They’ve been inferior by a distance in both their Super 8 defeats (to India and Australia) and yet, there’s a chance – however negligible – for them to make the last four [A big margin win over Afghanistan and a massive defeat for Australia will do the trick]. At the very least, signing off from the tournament with a win will perhaps be on the top of Najmul Hossain Shanto’s to-do list.
When:Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, 52nd match, Super 8 Group 1, 08:30 PM Local (June 24), 06:00 AM IST (June 25)
Where:Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent
What to expect:Spin it to win it has been the way to go here (also, win toss and bat first). Afghanistan will admire every blade of grass on the ground where they snared a giant (Australia) just two days ago. That, and the possibility of sneaking into the semis will mean Rashid Khan & Co. will come out swinging for the fences.
Team Watch:
Afghanistan
Tactics & Match-ups:Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad have the capacity to inflict a lot of damage on Bangladesh at this venue. While this venue has aided spin the most, Bangladesh’s woes are doubled by the fact that they’ve struggled to play against spin in this tournament – particularly wrist spin. To make matters worse for them, Rashid Khan is the leading wicket-taker in encounters between these two sides, with 18 wickets in 10 matches.
Probable XI:Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Nangeyalia Kharote, Noor Ahmad , Naveen-ul-Haq , Fazalhaq Farooqi
Bangladesh
Tactics & Match-ups:Mustafizur Rahman is yet to pick a wicket in the Super 8s, but Bangladesh will rely on the left-armer early on. He has dismissed Afghanistan’s form batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz once and conceded at only a run-a-ball in 11 deliveries in T20Is to him. Bangladesh’s senior pro Shakib Al Hasan has to step in to nullify the threat of Ibrahim Zadran, who he has dismissed once in 13 balls in T20Is, conceding just six runs.
Probable XI:Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das (w), Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman
Did you know:
–Bangladesh have lost 21 wickets to spin in this World Cup – the most by any team.
– Fazalhaq Farooqi is two wickets away 17 scalps – the most-ever by a bowler in a single edition of a T20 World Cup
– Shakib is one of only two players to feature in each of the first nine editions of the men’s T20 World Cup. He also became the first to get to 50 T20 World Cup wickets in Bangladesh’s previous fixture
What they said:
“Yeah, it’s a nice feeling to have the fact that we’re playing the last game. You will know exactly what the scenario is and then what’s needed to win. That’s always a nice feeling. So, we’ve just got to focus on our match against Bangladesh and when all the other matches are played, we’ll know what we need to do and the decisions we need to make.” – Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott
“I think what we have to do is we have to acknowledge – You say there was a lot of expectation. Sometimes we wonder where the expectation comes from, because it’s the first time we’ve ever got through to the Super 8s, which is a wonderful achievement from this group.” – Bangladesh assistant coach Nic Pothas
