Bangladesh have not had a particularly successful run in T20s of late, but they snapped an eight-match losing streak to beat Afghanistan in the first match of this series. They will now be looking to secure the series win. But Afghanistan will know that they can perform better than they did in the first match and will have high hopes of hitting back. Who will come out on top? Read on for our full Bangladesh vs Afghanistan 2nd T20 preview and prediction:
Bangladesh vs Afghanistan 2nd T20 Preview and Prediction
Series So Far
Bangladesh had a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign, losing all five matches they played in the Super12 section of the tournament, and most of them heavily. They followed that by losing 3-0 at home to Pakistan. But they have enjoyed some good results in Test and ODI cricket since then, beating New Zealand in a Test match away from home and winning their recently concluded ODI series with Afghanistan 2-1. They maintained that momentum in the first match of the T20 series.
Litton Das led the way with the bat, making 60 off 44, as Bangladesh posted 155 from their 20 overs. Their bowlers then scythed through the Afghanistan batting line-up, bowling their visitors out for just 94 inside 18 overs. The Afghan top three contributed just eight runs between them and the only batsman to reach 20 runs were Najibullah Zadran and Azmatullah Omarzai. They will need a sharp improvement in that regard if they are to get anything out of this match.
Expected Teams
Bangladesh will likely continue with their opening combination of Munim Shahriar and Mohammad Naim. Das will bat at three and star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will come in at four. Captain Mahmudullah will come in at five, with Afif Hossain in at six. He was excellent in the ODI series, but did not quite replicate that in the first T20. Yasir Ali will bat at seven, with Mahedi Hasan at eight and Nasum Ahmed at nine. Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman will complete the Bangladesh XI.
Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz will both know that they can perform better than they did in the first match. It was also a disappointing debut for Darwish Rasooli. He scored just two. Zadran attempted to hold the innings together from number four, but was out for 27. Karim Janat will bat at five, with Mohammad Nabi at six. Neither man managed a score in the first game. Omarzai will bat at seven, with Rashid Khan at eight and Qais Ahmed at nine. Mujeeb Ur-Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi will round out the side.
Prediction
It would be a surprise if this match is as one-sided as the first. After all, it is uncommon for every batter to struggle as badly as the Afghan batters did in that match. But Bangladesh are playing with confidence and look more at home in these conditions, despite several Afghanistan players having significant experience in the Bangladesh Premier League. Like most T20s, it probably could go either way, but Bangladesh look the safer pick.
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