High-flying Afghanistan takes on Bangladesh in the first T20I of a three-match series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Dehradun on June 3.
When is the T20I match and how to watch it live
The first T20I between Afghanistan and Bangladesh will start at 8 pm local time, 3:30 pm BST on Sunday.
There seems to be no live television coverage of the match in India. Broadcaster details will be updated before the match.
Global TV listings and live stream
Bangladesh: TV - GTV; Live stream: www.rabbitholebd.com
Afghanistan: 1TV
Afghanistan vs Bangladesh - 1st T20I preview
Bangladesh handed a nine-wicket thrashing to Afghanistan in the two teams' only previous meeting at the World T20 in 2016.
Ever since Afghanistan has massively improved, earning them a place at the eight spot on International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 rankings, two places above Bangladesh.
Asghar Stanikzai-led Afghanistan side, who will be playing their first-ever Test against India from June 14, had been training at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Dehradun, which will become the 51st venue in India to host an international match on Sunday.
Familiarity with conditions and the firepower in their bowling unit makes them favourites for the series opener. Notably, they had beaten Bangladesh XI by eight wickets in a warm-up match on Friday.
All eyes on Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan, who had a stellar Indian Premier League (IPL) season with Sunrisers Hyderabad, will be Afghanistan's key to success on Sunday. The teenage leg-spinner scalped 21 wickets at a miserly economy rate of 6.73 in 17 matches in the recently-concluded IPL season and played a few handy knocks with the bat as well.
The 19-year-old has the ability to single-handedly win matches for his teams and his all-round performance in the high-pressure Qualifier match of IPL 2018 against Kolkata Knight Riders is a testament to his quality.
Khan will be supported by another teenage spinner in Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who made heads turn with his performances for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. The spin duo is capable of posing a big threat to the Bangladesh side on what is expected to be spinner-friendly conditions in Dehradun.
Can senior Bangladesh batters negate spin threat?
Bangladesh, on the other hand, will rely on their seasoned campaigners of the likes of Shakib, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman to counter the Afghan threat.
Shakib's men may be ranked lower than Afghanistan but they are heading into the series on the back of an impressive campaign in Nidahas Trophy — the tri-nation T20I series, involving Sri Lanka and India in March.
The Tigers bettered Sri Lanka and nearly pulled off an upset win against India in the finals before Dinesh Karthik drove India past the line in a last-ball thriller.
Bangladesh will be well served if they are able to trouble the relatively weaker and inexperienced Afghanistan batting unit. However, the last-minute injury to pacer Mustafizur Rahman has come as a big blow to their chances.
1st T20I - Squads
Afghanistan: Asghar Stanikzai (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Najeeb Tarakai, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shenwari, Shafiqullah Shafiq, Darwish Rasooli, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Shapoor Zadran, Aftab Alam.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Ariful Haque, Mehidy Hasan, Nazmul Islam, Abu Hider Rony, Rubel Hossain, Abu Jayed, Abul Hasan.
