Bangladesh Aim to Level ODI Series Against Afghanistan
Bangladesh vowed to learn from the mistakes as they take on Afghanistan in the second match in a bid to level the three-match series at Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE tomorrow (Saturday). The match starts at 6 PM (Bangladesh Time). Bangladesh, which came into the ODI series, high on confidence after completing a 3-0 sweep in T20 format, couldn't simply translate their domination in the first match, eventually losing it by five wickets. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz said there is nothing to be panicked in the wake of the defeat in a format, which is always dubbed as their strongest suit.
"We had a chance. Now we have an opportunity to get better because we know we had some mistakes this match, and we need to learn from these matches as soon as possible," Miraz said. The first match panned out in familiar fashion. Bangladesh tasted a top order collapse first before Miraz and Towhid Hridoy made resistance to add 101 runs for the fourth wicket. The run out dismissal of Hridoy after his 56-run knock, sparked a collapse as Bangladesh lost the last six wickets for 67 runs to be all out for 221 in 48.5 overs.
Miraz, who was also part of that collapse, top-scored for the side with 60. Afghanistan overhauled the target with relatively ease, albeit hiccup. Miraz said, they knew that they were 40 runs short but he hoped that the players will keep that in mind when they will take on the Afghanistan for leveling the series. "I am confident that our boys will do well in the next match. Already, we lost 40 runs on this wicket," he said. "I mentioned that if we could get 260 plus, it would definitely be better, because we are a good bowling side, and we are not giving away many runs. The problem is in the back end; we need to get partnerships."
The two sides met 20 times in ODI format with Bangladesh still have the upper-hand with 11 wins and nine defeats. Afghanistan won the last bilateral ODI series between the two sides by 2-1 margin in 2024, also in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Squad: Bangladesh: Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Captain), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Naim Sheikh, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Patwari, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmat Shah (Vice-Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wicketkeeper), Ikram Alikhil (Wicketkeeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad and Mohammad Saleem Safi Reserves: Bilal Sami and Faridoon Dawoodzai.
