AFG vs BAN

Key Features –

1. Once again Shakib Al Hasan proving as to why is he the Number 1 ranked ODI all rounder in the ICC Rankings. He scored a yet another half-ton and this time along with it took a fifer! His score was 51(69) and a match-winning spell of 5/29(10).

2. Mushfiqur Rahim being the pillar of their middle order and scored an 83(87) to take their score to a total of 200+.

3. Mosaddek Hossain played a quick cameo of 35(24) to take their total up to a 262 in 50 overs. He also took an important wicket of Hashmatullah Shahidi.

4. Gulbadin Naib had a good game with both bat and ball playing a Captain’s game. He had a spell of 2/56(10) and just missed his well deserved half-ton and ended up scoring 47(75).

5. Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers from Afghanistan bowling a spell of 3/39(10).

6. Samiullah Shenwari played his first game in this World Cup edition and just missed his well deserved half ton and ended up scoring 49(51)*. He just needed some support from the other end which unfortunately he didn’t receive from anyone.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. Afghanistan have played 7 games and probably are the first team in the history of World Cup cricket not to fetch even a single point till now after playing so many games. They still have two games to go, hope they fetch atleast one win before they go home.

2. Bangladesh are back in the race to qualify for the playoffs with tomorrow’s battle a must-watch encounter for Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

3. Bangladesh are now on the 5th position with 7 points after 7 games, just one point behind England and one point ahead Sri Lanka. This has opened the 4th spot for the playoffs to all these 5 teams, with 3 almost qualified and 2 officially eliminated.

4. Bangladesh have to play India and Pakistan… Aah the Asia Cup is back for them it seems. They need to win both those matches if they want any chances of qualifications, and remember England shouldn’t win more than one game from here on in their remaining three.

5. Shakib Al Hasan has been the lone fighter for the team and has got their team to this stage in the tournament and he deserves all the praises and appreciations for his outstanding performances throughout the 7 matches and possibly an even better performance in the next two. He has been well supported by Tamim once, Liton once and Mushfiqur majority of the times. This batting unit has been doing wonders. They do deserve to qualify just for Shakib.

6. Rashid Khan has completely been off colours in this World Cup edition and surely hasn’t had a great year with a not so good IPL too early on this year. He has bowled a total of 52 overs, conceded 314 runs at an economy rate of 6.03 in an ODI tournament, and has just taken 4 wickets in 7 matches. This has been a major cause of concern for Afghanistan’s poor outing this tournament since he was their strike bowler.

7. Removal of Mohammad Shahzad and change of captaincy in the last minute from Asghar to Naib has surely been one of the reasons for the poor performance of the team as a whole. Also, Samiullah Shenwari should’ve played from the very start if they wanted to win any match at all. He was their star performer today.

8. Shakib Al Hasan’s performance this season in the 6 completed matches they’ve played have been as follows –

With the bat – 75(84) vs SA, 64(68) vs NZ, 121(119) vs ENG, 124(99)* vs WI, 41(41) vs AUS, 51(69) vs AFG. A total of 476 runs. The reason he is the highest scorer of this tournament till now is because of his sheer consistency and determination to fight against all the tough teams and win at his own merit!

Up Next –

England vs Australia

Can’t really say anything about this game. This is a battle of the Ashes in a limited overs format! This is a battle between two of the strongest teams in this tournament! This is a battle for everyone to enjoy watching!

For England, it has to be a must-win game if they want to qualify, because thereafter they take on India and New Zealand who have been unbeaten in this season, and they surely would like to have their qualification pressure released when they play them later on!

For Australia, it’s been a clean sweep against everyone, and a list of comfortable victories in this tournament being on the 2nd position on the points table with 5 wins in 6 matches!

England should be the favourites since they are ranked 1 in the ICC ODI Rankings and Australia is 5th in the same. Also, England are the hosts. But yet, Australia are the favourites for tomorrow’s encounter since they haven’t lost to England in World Cup games since the last 29 years and have been on a roll since the time Warner and Smith have made a comeback to the side!

Jason Roy should be fit for tomorrow’s game and should likely replace James Vince making the English batting lineup as threatening as they were!

Key Battles and the Probable XIs –

Jason Roy, Johnny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan and Joe Root vs David Warner, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith

Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali vs Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell

Jos Buttler vs Alex Carey

Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes vs Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins

Mark Wood vs Nathan Coulter Nile

Adil Rashid vs Adam Zampa/Nathan Lyon

Possible Replacements –

1. Jason Roy was supposed to be fit before this encounter though no official confirmation has come yet and would come by tomorrow morning. If he’s fully fit, he would replace James Vince.

2. Adam Zampa hasn’t had a very good World Cup till now and can be replaced by Nathan Lyon if they want to continue with a spinner.

Rest, both lineups are most likely to stay the same.