T20 World Cup 2024: Afghanistan opt to bat first against Bangladesh

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Gulbadin Naib was Afghanistan’s man with the golden arm, bowling his team to a surprise 21-run victory over previously unbeaten Australia in their Group One Super Eight encounter in the T20 World Cup at the Arnos Vale Stadium on June 23, 2024. — AFP
Gulbadin Naib was Afghanistan’s man with the golden arm, bowling his team to a surprise 21-run victory over previously unbeaten Australia in their Group One Super Eight encounter in the T20 World Cup at the Arnos Vale Stadium on June 23, 2024. — AFP

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first against Bangladesh in a must-win match in the Super 8 round of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 at the Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, St Vincent.

India, England, and South Africa have already secured their places in the semi-finals of the ongoing cricketing event. The fourth spot will be filled after the match currently being played between Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The situation is quite simple for Afghanistan as a win today will be a surefire ticket to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. 

With Afghanistan batting first, Bangladesh need to chase a 110-run target in 12 overs, 130 in 12.2 overs and so on. The Tigers will need to chase a target down inside 13 overs to boost their net run rate in front of Bangladesh and Australia.

On the other hand, Australia will qualify if Bangladesh win but by a smaller margin.

“We’d like to bat first. Looking at the conditions here, batting is the best option. This is a proud moment for us being here. We have got the best opportunity to be in the semi-final. We should make sure that we do our basics right and enjoy. Everyone is pumped up. That victory [against Australia] gave us so much energy. Focus is on this game,” Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said at the toss.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said: “I wanted to bowl first. It’s an important match for us, we have a little chance, we want to grab this one. We have to be calm and execute our plans. The bowling unit is doing a great job. Important how we bat today.”

Teams:

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Litton Das (wk), Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Nangeyalia Kharote, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

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