Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, 3rd Match, Group B - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Toss - Bangladesh opt to bat

Sharjah has a reputation for being a six-hitting ground and as a result, Bangladesh want runs on the board to put pressure on Afghanistan. Despite earning a recall, Sabbir Rahman doesn't get to feature in the XI tonight whereas skipper Shakib Al Hasan is all set to play his 100th T20I. Afghanistan on expected lines are going in with an unchanged XI.

Teams:

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Mohammad Naim, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Afif Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi(c), Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Build up

Not often do Afghanistan go into a clash in a multi-nation tournament as favourites. However, the manner in which they mauled Sri Lanka on the opening night of the 2022 Asia Cup definitely has turned heads. They were absolutely clinical with the ball even with Rashid Khan not picking up a single wicket. And with the ball, they were absolutely brutal with their openers scoring more than 80 in the powerplay. That's the kind of flair their opponents for tonight have been lacking for a while in this format. Bangladesh's case is indeed quite curious. They have been pretty good in the 50-over format for a long time now but they have failed to crack the T20 code despite the presence of so many established stars.

The BCB has recently made a change in the coaching set up by appointing Sridharan Sriram as their new T20 technical director. It's too soon for him to bring out a massive change in their approach but it will still be interesting to see if his presence has made an impact already. If Bangladesh do lose this encounter, it will then be a straight shootout between them and Sri Lanka to reach the Super Four. But Afghanistan would hope to guarantee their spot with another clinical performance tonight. Welcome to the live blog for tonight's clash. Let's hope for a close encounter.