Afghanistan vs Bangladesh Prediction: Afghanistan won five in last six

Afghanistan and Bangladesh are going head to head in the Match 2 of One Day Series at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates on 9th November 2024. Afghanistan won five in last six. Who will win this game of cricket?

Captain Hasmatullah Shahidi batted through to a steady half century, but everything else seemed to look a bit under the weather. Losing three of the top five batsmen to scores in single digits, the opening batsman Sediqullah Atal's score of 21 off 30 balls with 3 fours underlined the requirement for something much stronger from the bat. Afghanistan will look to a solid start at the hands of their top-order batsmen and build into good partnerships so that the middle-order hitters Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, and Mohammad Nabi can play on a good foundation.

Number 4 Skipper Shahidi will play a pivotal role and this will be closely followed by other key players within the lineup. Among them will be all-rounders Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, and Mohammad Nabi. The No. 8 Rashid Khan will add depth to the batting line up as a reliable finisher. Although the batting lineup is powerful, they would face staunch challenges from the Bangladeshi bowlers on the Sharjah pitch.

The Bangladeshi bowling attack is very strong, given that the pitch conditions in Sharjah favor the bowlers. As if Allah Ghazanfar has emerged as a promising bowler, aligning along with Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi are already tremendous options.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Allah Ghazanfar, Nangeyalia Kharote, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Bangladesh were deprived of that when they lost the first ODI against Afghanistan by a big margin, thus breaking their three consecutive wins against the same opponent. This will be Bangladesh's second one-day series in 2024 since their 3-1 success against Sri Lanka in their previous series at home. Openers Tanzid Hasan, at number 3 is Najmul Hossain Shanto and at number 6 Mushfiqur Rahim, contributed significantly in Bangladesh's wins in this series against Sri Lanka.

Against Afghanistan in the first match, only skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto reached anywhere near his potential, with 47 runs at number 3. Soumya Sarkar opens alongside Tanzid Hasan in the absence of Liton Das. Every batter in the line-up has a rich experience with a history of impactful performances. The middle order needs to rediscover their form- Towhid Hridoy and Mehidy Hasan Miraz-the panellists said they are game-changers when on song. Bangladesh have the capability to chase down the target of 236 runs set by Afghanistan. Despite this heavy loss by 92 runs, they do have quality bowlers such as Mustafizur Rahman, who was the shining light of the last match, and also Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam in their pace attack, and that has made them look quite competitive on the field.

Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam

While the Bangladesh had well received a hammering in the first match, still it should be the tighter competition. With a strong all-round team, we expect Bangladesh to fight well back in this match. Bowlers will be expected to play a crucial role in determining the fate of the game. Afghanistan has done remarkably well at this ground and would be each team's favorite in this match prediction. Afghanistan is our pick to win.