Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan won the toss and decided to bat first against Bangladesh on Tuesday (June 25) in the last Super Eights, Group 1 clash of ICC T20 World Cup 2024, being played at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, Saint Vincent, West Indies. (Match Blog | Streaming | Scorecard)
Explaining why he chose to bat, Rashid said: "Looking at the conditions here, batting is the best option."
He added: "This is a proud moment for us being here. We have got the best opportunity to be in the semifinal. 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. We're playing the same team."
His opposing number 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. Two changes - Jaker and Mahedi not playing. Taskin and Soumya back into the squad."
Afghanistan can enter their maiden World Cup semi-finals if they win this match, or if the game gets abandoned due to rain. As for Bangladesh, a massive victory margin is needed to topple Australia by way of net run rate and join India from Group 1 in the last-four line-up.
The Afghans had earlier notched up their first-ever win over Australia in international cricket and are eager to create history again. The Bangla Tigers, on the other hand, need something special to sneak through.
The weather forecast for the match is not particularly encouraging, however. Rain is expected to interrupt proceedings in Kingstown, though we might still have a completed game. In case the match gets washed out, the Afghans will pip Australia on points and go through to the semi-finals.
Playing XIs
Afghanistan: 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.
Bangladesh: 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.
