Bangladesh and Afghanistan will lock horns in the first T20 International of a two-match series at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
The host will hope to bounce back after Afghanistan clinched the ODI series 2-1. Rashid Khan will lead the Afghans while Shakib Al Hasan will take over the reins of the Bangladesh team in the shortest format.
Litton Das (wk), Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.
AFGHANISTAN PLAYING XIRahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
TOSSBangladesh opted to field.
It will be interesting to see how Bangladesh’s top-order responds to Afghanistan’s spin challenge posed by the duo of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s hard-hitting line-up will have to contend with Bangladesh’s fiery pace trio.
Litton Das (wk), Rony Talukdar, Shamim Hossain, Najmul Hossain Shanto/Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud.
AFGHANISTAN PREDICTED XIRahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Litton Das
BATTERSNajmul Hossain Shanto, Ibrahim Zadran
ALL-ROUNDERSShakib Al Hasan (c), Mohammad Nabi, Mehidy Hasan Miraz
BOWLERSRashid Khan (vc), Mustafizur Rahman, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Team Composition: BAN 5:6 AFG Credits Left: 8.5
This will be the first T20I in Sylhet since December 2018. Bangladesh had suffered an eight-wicket defeat against West Indies in that game and is winless in two T20Is at this venue.
The chasing team holds a distinct advantage in Sylhet, having won six out of eight games. There is help for both pacers and spinners in the pitch but the former tends to get more wickets.
Matches played: 8
Team batting first won: 2
Team batting second won: 6
Highest score: 210/4 (20)
Lowest score: 116/9 (20)
Average first innings score: 153
Average vs pace bowling: 24.03
Run rate vs pace bowling: 7.87
Average vs spin bowling: 26.78
Run rate vs spin bowling: 7.44
Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Das (wk), Rony Talukdar, Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Rishad Hossain.
AFGHANISTANRahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Shahzad, Ibrahim Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (c), Karim Janat, Nijat Masood, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad, Wafadar Momand.
The first T20I between Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be not be televised LIVE in India. The match will be available for LIVE streaming on the FanCode app and website at 5:30 PM IST.
