The Bangladesh national men's cricket team expects to complete a clean sweep against Afghanistan in the last match after winning the ODI series on Friday (February 25) at ZACS, Chattogram. The third match of the series will be played at the same venue on Monday and will start at 11 a.m. Bangladesh will not take the match lightly because it is part of the ICC's World Cup Super League, which awards 10 points for each victory. The third ODI preview of the BAN vs AFG 2022 series is discussed in this article.
Third Match Preview of Bangladesh-Afghanistan ODI Series 2022
Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal expects his team to be more ruthless against Afghanistan in the third match after two back-to-back encouraging victories. On the other hand, the Afghanistan team will strive to restore some pride by winning the last match.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh team will try for a whitewash in the third match to show the rest of the cricket world that they are a better one-day international team than Afghanistan. Winning the series 3-0 will also increase their confidence ahead of next month's T20I series against Afghanistan. Besides, a valuable 30 points for the CWC Super League would improve their position in the standings. Therefore, the Bangladesh campaign will not take the final encounter of the series lightly.
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Tamim Iqbal has done an outstanding job as captain. His decision-making and bowling changes have been superb in this series. However, Tamim Iqbal has struggled with the bat. The southpaw was out twice in a similar fashion in the first two matches. He has to improve his batting technique. Shakib Al Hasan also struggled with the bat in the first two matches. Everyone expects these two players to flourish with the bat in the last game. Apart from them, middle-order batter Yasir Ali should try to show his ability if he gets an opportunity to bat in the match.
Bangladesh team management may decide to give a couple of players their ODI debuts. Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Nasum Ahmed are two of them. Therefore, two changes are possible in the forthcoming match.
Top Two Performers of Bangladesh in BAN vs AFG ODI Series 2022
Liton Das (Batting) - Inn: 2 | Runs: 137 | HS: 136 | Ave: 68.50 | SR: 102.33 | 100s: 1
Taskin Ahmed (Bowling) - Inn: 2 | Wickets: 4 | BBI: 2/31 | Ave: 21.50 | Econ: 4.30
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Probable Playing XI
Top Order: Tamim Iqbal (Captain), Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Middle-Orders: Yasir Ali/Mahmudul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Miraz, Lower-Order: Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam/Ebadot Hossain
Afghanistan
Afghanistan's flaws were exposed in the first two games. The Afghan team's inability to map out a proper plan for the limited-overs format is one of their biggest problems. They are adept at putting up a suitable game plan for the T20 format, but they have weaknesses when it comes to developing strategy and, more importantly, executing it on the field in a 50-over encounter.
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Afghanistan's bowling unit is its biggest strength. They have some world-class spinners on their squad, as well as a few potential pacers. However, these players must be capable of making breakthroughs when needed. On the other side, Afghan batters must improve their batting technique and tenacity. It's crucial to be able to score quickly in modern-day cricket, but the ability to play long innings is even more important. Afghanistan's batters must concentrate on forming partnerships in the middle, which would help them to win the match.
Another problem with which they should be concerned is the captaincy. Newly-appointed skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi has made some major errors in previous matches. Particularly, his bowling rotation was ineffective in the opening match. Shahidi appears to be clueless when dealing with crisis situations. Obviously, leading the team to more matches will enhance his decision-making. However, he must think outside the box in order to put pressure on the opposition batters.
Read Liton-Mushfiqur partnership ensures series win against Afghanistan
Afghanistan team management should revive its squad for the third One-Day International since they cannot afford to lose another match in the series. Their prospects of finishing in the top eight in the ICC CWC Super League will be slim if they lose the final match of the series. Afghanistan may also make some changes to its playing XI.
Top Two Performers of Afghanistan in BAN vs AFG ODI Series 2022
Najibullah Zadran (Batting) - Inn: 2 | Runs: 121 | HS: 67 | Ave: 60.50 | SR: 83.44 | 50s: 2
Fazalhaq Farooqi (Bowling) - Inn: 2 | Wickets: 5 | BBI: 4/54 | Ave: 22.60 | Econ: 5.65 | 4W: 1
Probable Playing XI
Top Order: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wicket-Keeper), Rahmat Shah, Ibrahim Zadran, Middle Orders: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Lower Order: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Bottom Line
Bangladesh will also start as favourites in the third match, considering Afghanistan's current lack of self-confidence. Afghanistan will have a mountain to climb in the final match If they were to overcome Bangladesh in this match. All the Afghani players will have to believe in themselves that they can defeat Bangladesh in the third ODI match of the BAN vs AFG 2022 ODI series.