Asia Cup : Afghanistan ready to face off desperate Bangladesh

File Photo

Knowing that Bangladesh would be desperate to win against them in a bid to stay alive in the Asia Cup, Afghanistan head coach Jonathon Trott urged his side to prepare for the challenge.

The two teams meet in a high voltage Asia Cup clash at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday.

Bangladesh have been in back foot after losing their first game to co-host Sri Lanka by five wickets. So the second game against Afghanistan turned out to be a 'do or die' game for them.

"I did watch the game, and I saw some good things from both teams. So, we know it's going to be tough. Both of our games are going to be tough. But focusing on the Bangladesh game first, we know that they're going to be desperate to win, obviously and it's our job to match their intensity and also the desire to win," Trott said.

"So, we all know that if we don't come with that mindset, matching them, or better mentality and better skills, we're going to be under pressure."

Afghanistan though were whitewashed in three-match series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka of late, recently they beat Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series by 2-1 and that too at Bangladesh's backyard.

Trott believes that victory will give them the edge over Bangladesh.

"We played Sri Lanka in a series. And we played Bangladesh in a series. And we beat Bangladesh for the first time in Bangladesh, which is a good achievement. So the teams will know each other really well, and we would have played each other a lot. So, I expect and I predict some high-quality cricket, and some tough cricket, which is good for the development of all three countries," he said.

Trott said their recent ODI series defeat against has made them understand where they need to work to challenge the big names.

"I think the series showed us the level we need to get to. We need to be consistent in our cricket. We had stages where we played some good cricket and we were in the first game, bowling them out for 200. And in the second game, we were in the game when we got 300 batting first, and I feel we should have won that game as well," he said.

Read More