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Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, 2nd ODI, Preview and Predictions: Asghar Stanikzai’s men eye equaliser

In the second One-Day International (ODI) as Afghanistan take on Bangladesh to keep their hopes of winning yet another overseas series alive.

Mahmudullah's innings was one of the highlights of the 1st ODI © AFP
Mahmudullah’s innings was one of the highlights of the 1st ODI © AFP

It is the second One-Day International (ODI) as Afghanistan take on Bangladesh to keep their hopes of winning yet another overseas series alive. The match is scheduled to be played at the same venue, Shere Bangla Stadium, Mirpur Dhaka and the hosts have the advantage as they won the first battle a couple of days ago. The series is of equal importance to both the teams and Afghanistan’s history of cricket says they are not the ones to back off without a fight. As the touring party will strive hard to show the hosts their prowess, one can easily expect a crunch match knocking at the door.

Afghanistan though lost the match, won hearts with their performance. Not everything went wrong in the previous encounter, for that matter, both the teams looked equally equipped with up to the mark bowling and batting performance. However, Afghanistan’s bowling, which was being considered to be the key, lacked discipline and that is where they lost the battle to Bangladesh.

To say, the team surely has bowlers that can give the batsmen nightmares. Dawlat Zadran has to be the most talented pacer in the squad, for he has the gift of speed that he utilises well. What is needed is a disciplined line and a full-proof plan from which the focus must not be shifted. In the previous game, the speedster was seen aiming at yorking the ball, ending up bowling few juicy full tosses and that too to Tamim Iqbal. Tamim, being as experienced and talented he is, did not miss a single chance to show them the way to the boundary and in turn built an innings which was one of the factors behind the hosts’ victory in the series opener. As a result, the bowler ended with a poor economy. READ: Shakib Al Hasan: Bangladesh’s global ambassador

Apart from Dawlat, for the fast-bowling department, there were Mirwais Ashraf and a 17-year-old, brand new, Naveen ul Haq. Naveen was sure to make some mistakes on his international debut and that to away from home, against a Test playing nation but the young guy picked up well and fast. Though he primarily went a bit experimental (which was needed in his case to find the suitable area to pitch the ball) he looked better as the innings proceeded. Ashraf, on the other hand, had a few bad overs as the batsmen made full use of his medium-pace. However, the bowler was smart enough to use that against the batsmen and get them caught in the deep.

But, the damage was done. Tamim, one of Bangladesh batting’s priced possessions, was at his prime as he gracefully swayed the ball all around the ground. He was well supported by Mahmudullah, who is another batsman Bangladesh can brag about for the technique he has. Both looked fearless and gave Bangladesh the partnership they wanted, despite losing Soumya Sarkar early on. To add the cherry topping on the cake, Shakib Al Hasan came out and impressed the crowd as usual with his class act of batting. The lower-order disappointed though and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza again failed to draw the slog-hitting end that he used to do once.

Still, there was one bowler who delivered a consistent and standout performance with economy as well as number of wickets and that is Mohammad Nabi. Nabi has been the player whom the team can rely upon, be it with the bat or ball and the spinner did not gave away any bonus runs, keeping it tight. Rashid Khan was the other to help him out in the process. However, there was one other reason there were no bonus runs while Nabi bowled, and that is because he was not fielding.

Bangladesh could not probably get to the runs they did, had Afghanistan fielded well. The flaws were evident. A tall Nabi twice had the chance at slip to get Imrul Kayes, but could not pull off the acrobatics expected of him. There were misfields everywhere and by most of them, including the skipper Asghar Stanikzai. The loss clearly showed how crucial a part fielding is in modern day cricket for a team to win a match.

Batting has always been Afghanistan’s forte, and time and again, there have been different cricketers who stood up and became the hero for the team. Mohammad Shahzad started off in his usual style, getting to the pitch of the ball and hitting it hard to get fours and sixes. However, Afghanistan needed a longer innings, a big partnership and Rahmat Shah stepped in. The player, who made a comeback after two years with Scotland, looks to emerge as the new hero with the bat for the team with consistent performances ever since. Along with him, it was Hasmutullah Shahidi who kept the hopes alive for the visitors.

The problem occurred as the batting reached the middle-order. Skipper Stanikzai, who was known for his cool-headed approach to the game and ability to play longer innings, is still struggling to find his form and that is affecting the Afghan middle-order prominently. No one beyond Nabi could do justice with the bat and Afghanistan handed the hosts a victory by 7 runs.

However, there are many positives for Afghanistan to take from the match. The team took a few bold steps like playing an uncapped pacer, marking the comeback of a couple of players and so on and good news is, all worked in favour. This means, they are walking in the right direction. The team has done exceptionally well playing away from home and has all the qualities to win the next one and make the three-match series interesting.

On the other hand is Bangladesh, who also have a few problems to work on despite the win. Sarkar, the opener, needs consistency while Kayes has to work on his batting, which were prominent by the chances he produced for Afghanistan. But the first and foremost has to be the form of the leader, Mortaza, who has not been effective either with bat or ball. The player needs to better his game to lead the team by example and that is when they will step closer to perfection.

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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