Bangladesh have elected to take first use of what Litton Das described as “a bit on the slow side” of the Abu Dhabi surface, setting up Tuesday’s Group B meeting with an unchanged Afghanistan side.
“We would have liked to bat first as well,” admitted Rashid Khan at the toss, though the leg-spinner added that his bowlers have “handled this ground well in the past”. A win tonight would lift Afghanistan to the top of the section.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, have freshened things up. Saif Hassan, Nurul Hasan, Taskin Ahmed and Nasum Ahmed come in, replacing Mahedi Hasan, Pervez Hossain Emon, Shoriful Islam and the second Mahedi. The move restores Taskin’s new-ball pace and brings in Nasum’s left-arm spin, the think-tank clearly wary of how the pitch might slow further under lights.
Afghanistan see no reason to tinker. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal continue at the top, with Ibrahim Zadran anchoring the middle. Rashid again forms a three-pronged spin attack alongside Noor Ahmad and 16-year-old off-spinner AM Ghazanfar, whose tidy figures against Sri Lanka drew praise from former India opener Abhinav Mukund. “He kept his nerve whenever the batsmen tried to charge,” Mukund said on TV, stressing that the youngster “used his fields cleverly”.
With only one qualification spot guaranteed, Bangladesh know the margin for error is getting thin. Analyst Aakash Chopra believes the Tigers need at least 160 on this surface. “Anything below that and Rashid’s men will fancy it,” he noted, pointing to Afghanistan’s power hitters from No. 5 downwards.
Squads
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan, Litton Das (capt & wk), Towhid Hridoy, Nurul Hasan, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (capt), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
First ball is at 18:00 local time; the forecast is clear and the outfield quick.
