AFG vs BAN | Bangladesh seek to keep series alive as Afghanistan close in on hattrick of ODI series wins
Afghanistan have the chance to seal a third straight ODI series win over Bangladesh when they meet in the second ODI in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. The hosts ran-away five-wicket winners in an attritional opening encounter, while an opportunity to equal the direct head-to-head also beckons.
Afghanistan may have made a global reputation for themselves as T20 powerhouses, a claim backed by their run to the World Cup semi-final last year, but the side seems to still feel most at home in the 50-over format of the game. Their attritional batting outlook with a dose of big-hitting in the dire stages is tailormade for ODIs, especially those in subcontinental conditions where any score above 250 can prove to be more than compeittive given the quality bowling line-up at their disposal.
It is the same vibe that Bangladesh have emanated ever since they broke into the big stage and began making a name for themselves in the 200s with wins over the likes of Australia and India. However, the Tigers seemed to lost their bearings in the format in recent times, earmarked by dismal World Cup and Champions Trophy games where they won a combined two games out of nine. The fact that the next major ICC ODI event is still two years away bodes well for them though, as they transition past legendary figures such as Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al-Hasan into a new era under the latter's natural successor, Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Games between these two nations are often a coin-flip, a phenomenon that was at show in the T20I series where either team could have claimed honours till the very death in all three encounters. The first ODI also threatened to flip around late when Afghanistan lost a couple of quick wickets, but instead managed to give the Tigers a dose of their own medicine by cruising through to the end on the back of a spectacular Azmatullah Omarzai knock of 40. Expect the second ODI to be no different, as Bangladesh look to level the series while Afghanistan hope to seal proceedings with a game to spare.
Form Guide
Afghanistan are playing their first bilateral ODI series of 2025 after exiting the Champions Trophy in the group stages, where they lost to South Africa but beat England and split points with Australia in a rain-marred encounter. However, Afghanistan have not lost an ODI series since February last year, since which they have trumped the Proteas, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh also exited the Champions Trophy early but without any victories under their belt, losing to both India and New Zealand before the match against Pakistan was washed out. They have sincee lost 2-1 to Sri Lanka in an ODI series, making their win over the same opponents at home last year their only series victory in their last seven attempts.
Afghanistan: W W L W W
Bangladesh: L L W L L
AFG vs BAN Head-to-Head in ODIs
Afghanistan have won three of their last four ODIs against Bangladesh, all of which have taken place in the Emirates where they have lost to the Tigers just twice in six ODI meetings. Despite an overall deficit of two games, Afghanistan hold a seven to six edge in bilateral encounters with both teams snaring a couple series each. However, it is the Atalans that have ended in front of their two latest endeavours in 2023 and 2024, giving them the mental edge heading into Saturday.
AFG 9-11 BAN
Pitch and Weather
Zayed Cricket Stadium produced a slow turned in the first game with run-scoring especially difficult against quality, an attribute both teams pride themselves on especially in Asian conditions. Even though Afghanistan went against the trend to end up winners while chasing, four of the five day/night ODIs previous to the encounter had been taken by the team batting first with an average score of 274. The extreme heat forecasts and a slight breeze in the evening only makes the case stronger for setting a target, albeit the lack of batting firepower in both units may deter them from opting to do so.
Accuweather predicts the temperature to be in the mid-30 degrees celsius at the start of the encounter and gradually slide down as the evening matures. The wind is also expected to pick up with gusts reaching speeds of 33 km/h, as is the humidity that is expected to peak around the 60% mark.
Team News
Afghanistan have a settled ODI batting line-up at their disposal with Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, and Allah Ghazanfar likely to contine as the spin trio alongside all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. However, Bashir Ahmed's underwhelming ODI debut may tempt the Atalans into capping another quick in Abdullah Ahmadzai albeit Mohammad Saleem is also waiting in the wings.
Bangladesh would look to give the likes of debutant Saif Hassan and the returning Najmul Hossain Shanto some time to bed in while Towhid Hridoy's half-century should also keep him in the line-up. Mohammad Naim lies in wait to repalce Tanzid Hasan who is not enduring a great year in ODI cricket, while Mustafizur Rahman is also likely to return in lieu of Hasan Mahmud.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Allah Ghazanfar, Abdullah Ahmadzai
Bangladesh: Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Jaker Ali, Nurul Hasan (wk), Tanzim Hasan, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed
Broadcasting Platforms
The ODI series between Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be digitally streamed in India on the Fancode app and website.
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