Asia Cup 2022: Afghanistan, Bangladesh to lock horns today

SHARJAH: Bangladesh and Afghanistan will lock horns in the third match of the ongoing Twenty20 Asia Cup 2022 today [Tuesday] at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates, Geo News reported.

This Group B match will start at 7pm PST.

Bangladesh will strive to improve their T20I performance as they hit the ground to play their first match of the tournament. Afghanistan are a clear favourite as their win against Sri Lanka in the tournament opener has buoyed up their confidence. The Afghan pacers and batters dominated the game and won it by eight wickets.

The Islanders pulled together a dismal show after they were put in by Afghanistan. Sri Lanka gave away two wickets -- Kusal Mendis (2) and Charith Asalanka (0) -- in the first over. They were 5 for 3 in the second over. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamika Karunaratne tried to rescue the team with 38 and 31 runs respectively. Sri Lanka could manage a meagre 105-run target as Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq blasted their batting line thoroughly.

Afghanistan chased down the target in 10.1 overs with blistering knocks by Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz as they hit 13 boundaries collectively. Gurbaz scored 40 off 18 balls with the help of four sixes.

Of late, the Shakib Al Hasan-led side has been lacking confidence as they could win just two of 13 games since the World Cup last year. They also lost two white-ball series in Zimbabwe earlier this month. However, the inclusion of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim will give a substantial advantage to the team as they along with Mohammad Saifuddin, Sabbir Rahman and Mohammad Naim have the capacity to turn the tables on their high-flying opponents today.

The Asia Cup 2022 will feature six teams from the Asian continent divided into two groups. Pakistan is in Group A along with India and Hong Kong. Group B has the other three Asian teams -- Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Following the group matches, two top teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage, which will begin on September 3.

The final between the top two teams of the Super Four will be played on September 11. The cricket action will continue in Dubai and Sharjah till the final on September 11.

Afghanistan (probable): 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Karim Janat, 6 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 4 Afif Hossain, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Sabbir Rahman, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Nasum Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur Rahman