The Afghanistan team has a clear path to the T20 World Cup semifinals: defeating Bangladesh in their final Super Eights match will secure their spot.
Following India’s 24-run win over Australia, India have already secured the top position in Group 1 and advanced to the semifinals. The remaining semifinal spot from Group 1 will be contested among Afghanistan, Australia, and Bangladesh, who each have two points.
Here’s the scenario for Afghanistan:
– If Afghanistan win against Bangladesh, they will move to four points, surpassing Australia and securing their place in the semifinals regardless of their net run rate (NRR), which is currently -0.650.
– Even if the match ends with no result, Afghanistan will advance with three points, enough to edge out both Australia and Bangladesh.
For Bangladesh:
– Bangladesh need a significant win to advance. They must defeat Afghanistan by 62 or more runs if they bat first or chase the target set by Afghanistan quickly enough (exact overs will depend on the target). This scenario will boost their NRR past Australia’s -0.331 and qualify them for the semifinals.
– Any other victory margin for Bangladesh will not suffice, and Australia will advance due to a superior NRR.
Afghanistan come into this match with high confidence, having recently defeated Australia, and will look to capitalize on their momentum against a less formidable Bangladesh team.
Teams (From):
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti,Hazratullah Zazai , Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik.
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Jaker Ali, Tanvir Islam, Shoriful Islam, Soumya Sarkar.
Match starts at 6:00 am IST.