Tigers get another shot to finally beat Afghans before final
Bangladesh can take hope and confidence from their win against Zimbabwe on Wednesday and the loss Afghanistan suffered against Zimbabwe on Friday.
Will third time be the charm for Bangladesh? It remains to be seen if they can finally beat Afghanistan as they face-off for the third time this tour in the sixth T20I at Chattogram on Saturday.
Bangladesh can take hope and confidence from their win against Zimbabwe on Wednesday and the loss Afghanistan suffered against Zimbabwe on Friday.
It was captain Hamilton Masakadza's last international match before retirement, and he finished it off in style by scoring a match-winning 71 runs off 42 balls in an innings that had four boundaries and five sixes.
The innings helped Zimbabwe chase down the 156-run target with seven wickets and three deliveries to spare, handing Afghanistan their first loss in their tour.
While the final will be played between Bangladesh and Afghanistan in Dhaka on Tuesday, this match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium will be an excellent dress-rehearsal.
A win for either team will give them valuable momentum that they will carry through to the final.
Bangladesh will be desperate to notch their first win over Afghanistan during Afghanistan's tour here.
At first they suffered a shock loss against the Afghans in the one-off Test match, while their next defeat came in the T20I format.
That win gave the Afghans 12 straight wins in T20I's - a world record - and once again epitomised their meteoric rise in the cricketing arena.
Pitch and conditions
The weather forecasts scattered thunderstorms. So with rain around, winning the toss and bowling first should be the way to go.
The pitch should be a batting friendly one, as has been the case throughout but there should be something in it for the bowlers too.
As a result, an even battle between bat and ball should commence.
Team news
Bangladesh's leg-spinning all-rounder Aminul Islam Biplob who took two wickets in Bangladesh's last match against Zimbabwe will not be available as he picked up a hand injury while fielding.
Bangladesh won that match by 39-runs and it was their best display in the series so far.
They will be forced to make a change and that might mean a return for Sabbir Rahman, who was initially dropped for Biplob.
For Afghanistan, they might want to stick to the same lineup that won their match against against Bangladesh.
The form of the top order batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored 43 in the last match against Zimbabwe should provide them a further boost, though they ended up losing against Zimbabwe.
