Bangladesh face Afghanistan in must-win match

Bangladesh conceded two defeats in three matches in the 14th Asia Cup, which is a wakeup call for the Tigers ahead of going into the crucial Super Four stage battle against Afghanistan at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday afternoon.

The match will begin at 5:30 pm Bangladesh time.

Both Bangladesh and Afghanistan lost their first game of the Super Four stage against India by seven wickets and by three wickets against Pakistan respectively.

But Afghanistan are ahead of the bottom-run Bangladesh in the points table by virtue of better run rate.

Moreover, ICC's new full-member Afghanistan are morally strong, having a 136-run winning experience against Bangladesh in the group stage clash.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza wants a fight back, though, witnessed worried-face at the dressing-room with early loss of wickets in the last two matches.

“We have had collapses in two successive matches. We managed to recover in the first game but faced world-class bowlers against Afghanistan and India. We have to ensure more partnerships in the first 30 overs so that we don't go out of the contest,” the Tiger captain told newsmen on Saturday.

Ahead of the game, Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes have been included in injury-hit Bangladesh squad to give a much-needed boost to their batting.

In this context, Mashrafe said, “It won't be easy for anyone - not for those who are currently playing, nor for those coming in ... everything in international cricket is tough - and you have to score, bat well and bowl well within that, and we have staged comebacks like this. Nothing is impossible; whoever plays has to take a little responsibility.”

Bangladesh started the campaign with a 137-run win over Sri Lanka before losing to Afghanistan in the Group stage. Then the Tigers conceded defeat against India in their first match of the Super-Four stage.

Having failed to cross 200 runs mark in successive innings, the Tigers could make changes to their top order, with Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes available now.

Afghanistan is unlikely to tinker with their top six but they may want to ponder the make-up of their pace attack.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Liton Das, 2 Nazmul Hossain Shanto, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mohammad Mithun, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Ihsanullah, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Asghar Afghan (capt), 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Najibullah Zadran, 8 Gulbadin Naib, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Aftab Alam, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman