Tigers get confident start with the bat

Bangladesh opener Mohammad Naim managed a 32-ball 28, his career-best, to help the Tigers score 60 runs inside the Powerplay but the left-hander couldn't prolong his innings as he was castled by Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the 10th over, giving Afghanistan their first breakthrough.

The following over, Towhid Hridoy, who was promoted to number three, was dismissed after edging a full-length delivery to first slip off the bowling of seamer Gulbadin Naib to leave the Tigers two down for 63.

Bangladesh opener Mohammad Naim managed to get a confident start as he along with makeshift opener Mehedi hasan Miraz helped Bangladesh score 33 runs in the first five overs of the innings against Afghanistan in their must-win Asia Cup encounter in Lahore on Sunday.

Naim put away four boundaries for his unbeaten 19-ball 21, surpassing his previous best of 16, while Mehedi remained not out on two.

Bangladesh bat with three changes in must-win game against Afghanistan

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and had no hesitation in deciding to bat first against Afghanistan in an Asia Cup contest they must win to stay alive.

The all-rounder mentioned the sporting nature of the Gaddafi wicket in Lahore and the hot and humid conditions for his decision.

Shakib mentioned the team made three changes from the five-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka, with Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmud and Afif Hossain coming in.

Bangladesh XI: 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (c), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Shamim Hossain Patwary, 8 Afif Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Shoriful Islam

Bangladesh will need a win to stay alive in the competition. However, just a win might not be enough for them to progress to the Super 4 stage, given they have already suffered a five-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in the opening Group B contest on Wednesday.

Bangladesh could actually confirm their Super 4 berth today if they beat the Afghans by such a big margin that it helps take their net run-rate, currently -0.951, past Sri Lanka's net run-rate of 0.951.

But the Tigers will realistically be looking to get a win under their belt first and then depend on the outcome of the Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan match on Tuesday.

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