Afghanistan suffered a close loss at the hands of Bangladesh and now will face Sri Lanka in a must-win encounter in the ongoing Asia Cup. Bangladesh don’t have the greatest net run rate but they gave themselves the best chance of qualification by beating Afghanistan on Tuesday.
Afghanistan made it a bit harder for themselves in the ongoing Asia Cup after going down against Bangladesh in a crucial Group B clash in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, September 16. With Sri Lanka already having gotten to four points, the group of death opened up further as Bangladesh staked their claim for the second spot in the Super Fours as the bowlers’ collective effort helped the Tigers prevent Afghanistan’s batting from chasing down a tricky target of 155 in their 20 overs.
At one point, when Tanzid Tamim was blazing, Bangladesh looked good for a total in excess of 170, even 180, before Afghanistan stormed back into the contest in the latter half of their bowling innings, restricting them to a chasable score of 154. Noor Ahmad and skipper Rashid Khan were the pick of the bowlers and when Azmatullah Omarzai injected the momentum with his quickfire 30, it seemed like Afghanistan would prevail eventually before Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed applied a magnificent choke at the death with some exceptional death-bowling skills.
Now Afghanistan’s chances hang in the balance, but unlike the other two teams, Rashid and Co still have the destiny in their own hands.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points | NRR |
| 1. | Sri Lanka | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | +1.546 |
| 2. | Bangladesh | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -0.270 |
| 3. | Afghanistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +2.150 |
| 4. | Hong Kong | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -2.151 |
Among the four teams in Group B, Afghanistan have the best run rate, following their humongous 94-run win against Hong Kong in their opening fixture and hence, a win should be enough for Afghanistan to get through.
However, the scenario isn’t straightforward for the other two. If it comes to net run rate, Bangladesh might lose out on qualification, given they are the only side in the fray with a negative net run rate. Hence, Sri Lanka beating Afghanistan on Thursday will be an ideal scenario for Bangladesh to qualify for the Super Fours.
However, if Afghanistan wins, Bangladesh will have to hope that Sri Lanka loses by at least 71-plus runs if they bat second or by 53-plus balls remaining while batting first. If Sri Lanka lose by less than 71 runs or by less than 53 balls remaining when Afghanistan are chasing, they will go ahead and Bangladesh will miss out.
It will be a thrilling race to the finish line in Group B with all three teams still alive in the qualification race. From Group A, India have already qualified. One of Pakistan or UAE will make it through, who wins the contest on Wednesday.