Asia Cup, Bangladesh vs Afghanistan: Match preview and stats
What's the story
Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan in Match 9 of the ongoing T20 Asia Cup 2025 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, September 16. The Bengal Tigers started their campaign with a bang, beating Hong Kong by seven wickets. However, they faltered against Sri Lanka in their last game, losing by six wickets. Meanwhile, Afghanistan are riding high on a massive 94-run victory over Hong Kong and will be looking to continue that momentum. Here is the match preview.
Pitch report
Pitch report and streaming details
As for the pitch conditions, the Abu Dhabi track has favored aggressive batting in the Asia Cup so far, but bowlers have also found assistance from the pitches. The average first-inning score at this venue is around 135 runs. The match, which will get underway at 8:00pm IST, will telecast live on Sony Sports Networks in India, with live streaming available on FanCode and Sony LIV apps/websites.
Head-to-head stats
A look at head-to-head record
As per ESPNcricinfo, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have faced each other 12 times in the T20I format, with Afghanistan leading the head-to-head record. The latter have won seven matches while Bangladesh have managed to win five. In T20Is, the two sides last crossed swords in the final Super 8 game of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. The game went right down to the wire as Afghanistan prevailed by eight runs (DLS method).
BAN vs AFG
Can Bangladesh overcome their batting struggles?
Bangladesh's batting has been a major concern, especially after their top order failed against SL. However, Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain did salvage the innings with an unbeaten 86-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Litton Das, who scored a half-century against Hong Kong, will have to lead from the front. Meanwhile, Afghanistan hammered Hong Kong in their opener thanks to Azmatullah Omarzai's half-century from No. 6 and an unbeaten partnership of 82 runs for the fifth wicket with Sediqullah Atal.
Line-ups
A look at the probable playing XIs
Bangladesh probable XI: Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Litton Das (c & wk), Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman. Afghanistan probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Performers
Here are the key performers
Earlier this year, Parvez Hossain Emon became Bangladesh's second centurion in the T20I format. Taskin Ahmed has claimed 14 wickets from just six T20Is this year. Earlier this month, Rashid Khan became the highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket by surpassing Tim Southee, who retired with 164 wickets. Sediqullah Atal has scored 227 T20I runs in 2025 at an average of 56.75 and a strike rate of 132.74.
Poll
