Tigers opt to bat against Afghanistan, Nahid makes debut

Bangladesh’s stand-in captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz won the all-important toss in the series-deciding third One Day International (ODI) and opted to bat first without any hesitation at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE Monday.

The series is locked at 1-1. Afghanistan won the first match by 92 runs while Bangladesh levelled the series, securing a 68-run win in the second ODI.

Regular captain Shanto received a groin injury during his match-winning 76-run knock in the second ODI and subsequently was ruled out for the final ODI.

In a statement today, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also revealed that Shanto will miss the Test series against West Indies too.

Winning the toss was important given that the batting first team usually wins the match as per the history of this ground.

“The wicket looks good in the first innings. (Winnings toss and leading the side) good moment for me,” Miraz told the broadcaster after the toss.

Bangladesh made two changes to the squad from the one that played the previous match.

Zakir Hasan replaced injured Shanto to make a comeback to the ODI fold after September 2023. The ODI against New Zealand was his only game in this format.

Fast bowler Nahid Rana, who put on an impressive show in Test cricket, was awarded an ODI cap today as Taskin Ahmed was given rest.

Afghanistan however stayed unchanged.

“The pitch is new. It’s a fresh pitch, and looks drier. I think it’ll spin. Chasing is a little bit difficult here,” Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said.

“We’ll try to learn from the previous match and do well today. We go with the same team.”

Playing XI:

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Soumya Sarkar, Zakir Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik (w), Nasum Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Nangeyalia Kharote, Fazalhaq Farooqi.