Bangladesh vs Afghanistan: All you need to know
The last Group One fixture of the T20 World Cup's Super Eight phase is set to take place between Bangladesh and Afghanistan at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Saint Vincent on Tuesday (6:30 am, Bangladesh time).
With India through to the semifinals, on the back of a 24-run win against Australia in Saint Lucia on Monday, it meant that the second spot – which ensures a semifinals face-off with South Africa -- is still up for grabs for the three teams of the group.
As it stands, Afghanistan have the best chance to move into the last-four stage, since a win would suffice, taking them to four points and past Australia, whereas the odds are stacked the heaviest for Bangladesh, who have to win and win emphatically to get their net run rate above Australia.
While the Tigers are aiming for their first win in the Super Eights, both teams are eying their first-ever semifinals entry in the competition.
Bangladesh's tough task ahead, if they intend to move into semis
The path to the semi-finals for Bangladesh is fraught with challenges. A loss or a washout will result in the Tigers' elimination, and even a win may not suffice due to their poor net run rate of -2.489. Here's what Bangladesh needs to do in different scenarios:
If Bangladesh defend:
Bangladesh must defeat Afghanistan by at least 62 runs, regardless of their total score. For a curtailed-match, however, the necessary margin of victory increases.
If Bangladesh chase:
The Tigers will be hoping to chase as small a target as possible, but they'll still be required to score around or over 10 runs per over, a task that may be too hard of a nut to crack for them.
A chase of 200 will have to be in 13.3 overs, whereas chasing 120 will get them 12.1 overs to complete the hurdle.
In chasing, a curtailed match will see Bangladesh's chances of qualifying diminish significantly, if not becoming zero.
Bangladesh-Afghanistan highlights
*Afghanistan edge Bangladesh in head-to-head records in T20Is with six wins against the Tigers' five in 11 meetings. However, in their only meeting in the T20 World Cup, Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by nine wickets in the 2014 edition.
*The average first innings total at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St.Vincent, the venue for the match, is 132 after four T20 World Cup matches. Bangladesh won both their group-stage fixtures against Netherlands and Nepal while Afghanistan pulled off their historic upset over Australia at the venue.
Comments