Afghanistan Bat First, Eye 3-0 Sweep Against Bangladesh

In the 3rd and last ODI between Bangladesh and Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi decided to bat first. He was already 2-0 up with his team defeating the first two games by five wickets and by 81 runs, and they are now hoping to win the series 3-0.

At the toss, Hashmatullah said that it was on the same ground as the previous match; therefore, the choice was to bat. He added that they wanted to take advantage of the early situation and score a good total. Even though he admitted that he made some mistakes during the last match, the skipper said that there is no denying that his team would be able to recover and finish the series on an uplifting note.

Afghanistan had replaced its two players. Rahmat Shah was out for a month due to a calf strain, which compelled the team to make an adjustment. He was substituted in the playing XI by Ikram Alikhil, and Bilal Sami replaced Bashir Ahmad. Although Rahmat was not present, the Afghanistan batting line was still considered to be very strong, and one would expect Shahidi, Gurbaz, and Ibrahim Zadran to be at the frontline.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the captain of Bangladesh, said elsewhere that his team should not accuse itself, especially the batters. Bangladesh had been losing two consecutive matches and needed a comeback. Mehidy revealed that the team was willing to play without any fear and end the series.

There were four alternatives to add spice in Bangladesh. This was Mohammad Naim, Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, and Nahid Rana as a replacement for Tanzid Hasan, Jaker Ali, Taskin Ahmed, and Tanzim Hasan. Mehidy described the reasons for introducing the new players as providing the side with increased balance and new impetus after two poor performances.

In Abu Dhabi, the same was used in the second ODI. The pitch looked dry and hard, expected to help batters early on, with spinners likely to find some turn later in the innings. The weather was fine and consistent enough to play a complete game, with no prospect of rain to distract from it.

As Afghanistan was looking forward to the 3-0 whitewash and Bangladesh was determined not to suffer defeat again, the stage was set for a strong endgame. The home team had a feeling of confidence, and Bangladesh were looking forward to the fact that their own changes and new strategy would finally pay off.

Afghanistan: 

1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Ikram Alikhil, 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Nangeyalia Kharote, 10 AM Ghazanfar, 11 Bilal Sami

Bangladesh: 

1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 6 Nurul Hasan (wk), 7 Shamim Hossain, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Hasan Mahmud, 10 Tanvir Islam, 11 Nahid Rana