If they ever script a Cinderella story like Sri Lanka and win a World Cup, it could well be a quiz question to stump the biggest nerds. Where did Afghanistan play their first (50-over) World Cup game, and who was it against?
It was in Australia, but not at one of those historic venues whose names just roll off the tongue. Afghanistan’s first taste of cricket’s showpiece tournament came at Canberra’s Manuka Oval, and Bangladesh were the opposition.
Though the venue was a cricketing outpost, there was no lack of atmosphere, with thousands of fans having driven up from Melbourne and Sydney. The crowd that night was filled with stuffed tigers held proudly aloft by Bangladesh fans, while the Afghans responded by beating on big, booming drums.
Bangladesh won that game easily enough, as they did again in England four years later. But down the years, Afghanistan have frequently troubled them, winning six of the 15 matches between the two sides. Five of those victories have come on Bangladeshi soil, where their slow bowlers have tended to relish the conditions.
Bangladesh’s preparations for this tournament have been far from ideal —Tamim Iqbal’s omission from the squad, his subsequent Facebook appearance, a withering response from Shakib Al Hasan, the captain, and controversy over Chandika Hathurusingha, the coach, appearing to suggest that winning the competition was an unrealistic aim.
There’s little doubt that Bangladesh now have the bowlers to trouble most teams in subcontinent conditions. But in Dharamsala, it might be the pacers, led by a rejuvenated Taskin Ahmed, that come to the fore, rather than Shakib and the spinners.
Afghanistan’s bowling trump cards are their spinners and it will be interesting to see how they adapt to the conditions. In a round-robin format, a strong start can often give a team real momentum. With Afghanistan facing the might of India, next, and Bangladesh staying at altitude to play England — the defending champions desperate to make amends after an opening-day shocker — in their second game, neither will want to start the competition on the wrong foot.
Time and venue details
October 7 from 10:30 IST. HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala.
Expected conditions
It should be a cool 22C at the start of play, and the temptation might be to make use of any early life in the pitch. Pacers have tended to do far better than spinners in the rarefied Himalayan air, and it’s worth noting that the chasing side have won three of the four ODIs played here. The caveat is that the last of those games was nearly six years ago.
Possible XIs
Bangladesh: Surely Shakib will draw on the experience of Mustafizur Rahman, especially if there’s swing and seam movement on offer. With no Tamim in the XI, the onus will be on Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das to provide the blazing start. Mehidy Hasan Miraz has shone with the bat in recent times, but with his off-spin likely a non-factor in Dharamsala, he may sit this out.
Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam.
Afghanistan: Their bowling stocks are so spin-heavy, a far cry from the days of Hamid Hassan and Shahpour Zadran, that it’ll be interesting to see who backs up the new-ball pair of Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi. The opening duo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have the potential to be the tournament’s sleeper hits.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai.
Match-ups
Taskin and Mustafizur against Afghan top order: As their nine defeats in the 2019 World Cup showed, Afghanistan are especially vulnerable to the moving ball. But this opening combination threatens to buck that trend, and if the ball seams around in the morning, it should make for an interesting contest.
Rashid Khan against Bangladesh’s middle-order hitters: Both teams play spin better, but Rashid has still managed to bamboozle most teams. That’s especially the case when they try to push on and target him.
Captain/coach speak
We’re trying to have a good World Cup and win matches. That’s the main aim for me. As I just said, our aim is to get into the semi-final, that can be a dream or can be an aim — doesn’t matter.
Chandika Hathurusingha (Bangladesh coach)
“We will achieve a lot and that’s what our aim and target is. We will try our best to play positive cricket and don’t worry about what happened in the past. So, we will try to give our best here. And again, I will say as a leader, I am very confident because our team is better than before in other tournaments.
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan captain)