After the high-intensity Pakistan-India match in Dubai on Sunday, the 2022 Asia Cup takes a day-long break before action resumes at the legendary Sharjah ground in the UAE as on-fire Afghanistan take on low-confidence Bangladesh.
Along with Hong Kong, Afghanistan entered the competition as underdogs, but their resounding victory over Sri Lanka, one of the Asian giants, made it clear that they weren’t just there to fill slots. To begin the Asia Cup, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveenul Haq put on a masterful show of fast-bowling, which was especially enjoyable considering Afghanistan is notorious for depending heavily on spinners like Rashid Khan to win games.
However, their pacers’ dominance against Sri Lanka, which saw them reduce the Islanders to 5-3 in just the second over, sent a warning to all other teams: dismiss them at your own risk.
Afghanistan entered the Asia Cup having dropped a T20I series against Ireland, but their flawless eight-wicket victory must have given them the confidence they needed to go to the Super Fours. The Mohammad Nabi-led team has a distinct advantage because they have spent most of their cricketing careers in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi. Afghanistan has defeated Bangladesh five times, compared to three losses in T20Is, thus history and statistics are also on their side.
Additionally, spinners have performed better than pacers in the past year on the Sharjah field in terms of average, economy, and strike rate; this is something Afghanistan will be delighted to take into account.
Form of Bangladesh
Bangladesh will have been paying close attention to Afghanistan thumping Sri Lanka.
Recently, the Tigers lost both of their white-ball series against Zimbabwe, which caused their confidence to plummet. However, the setbacks occurred without the veterans Shakibal Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim in the lineup. In addition, Shakib will join Madmudullah and Mushfiqur as the third Bangladeshi cricketer to play in 100 T20 Internationals.
Together with bowling all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin, the two will compete for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup, giving them the best chance to win the continental championship.
