Bangladesh take on gritty Afghanistan

 An interesting battle of the minnows is on the cards when Bangladesh and tournament-debutants Afghanistan fight it out here on Saturday to stay alive in the Asia Cup after suffering opening losses.

Both the teams, however, did show some spark against their respective rivals.
Bangladesh, who finished runners-up last year, have quite a few problems to deal with. The uncertainty over the fitness of their captain Mushfiqur Rahim has only compounded their problems.

After attacking opener Tamim Iqbal was ruled out of the event because of a neck strain and all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan was suspended for his lewd gestures on live TV, pacer Mashrafe Mortaza is also out due to a side strain.

Mortaza will not be available for the remainder of the tournament and has been replaced by Shafiul Islam.

On the up side, skipper Rahim made a good return from injury by notching up a hundred against India, albeit in a losing cause.But, Rahim, who sustained a shoulder injury while fielding against India, is still under observation and it’s not yet known whether he would be available for the match.

Batting was one of the biggest positives for Bangladesh to draw from the lost match against India and they will look to continue that momentum.