Can Bangladesh avoid whitewash shame? –

Such a day has never come in Afghanistan cricket. Afghans are thinking of whitewashing Bangladesh in the ODI series for the first time in history. That opportunity is in front of them today in the third and final ODI of the series in Abu Dhabi.

The Afghans pulled off an incredible win in the second match, where they scored 190 runs to bowl out Bangladesh for just 109 runs. The confidence of the two teams is now completely reversed – Afghanistan is in an increasingly strong position, and Bangladesh seems disoriented.

Afghanistan’s bowlers are now their real strength. Azmatullah Omarzai took three of the first four wickets in the second match. Then Rashid Khan sank the Bangladesh team with his whirlwind.

The success of the bowlers actually overshadowed the failure of the batsmen. Because Afghanistan’s batting has not yet fully settled. In the second match, Ibrahim Zadran fought alone, with just four boundaries on 140 balls till the 45th over. He understood the strategy of scoring runs on slow pitches. The rest did not benefit as much.

On the other hand, Bangladesh’s main concern is batting. They scored 221 runs in the first match, which the Afghans won with 5 wickets in hand. Chasing 190 runs in the second match, the entire batting lineup collapsed. No plan works against the Afghan spinners. The team’s spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed said, sometimes we have to play against the ball and not the bowler.

However, Bangladesh’s bowling and fielding were relatively good. While the pacers are consistently bowling well, the spinners are also struggling. But the batsmen’s failure is ruining the entire team’s performance.

Afghanistan is now leading 2-0 in the series. Will Bangladesh be able to win the consolation in the last match? Or will Afghanistan create history by whitewashing the Tigers in the ODI series for the first time?

MMR/ASM