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Bangladesh and Afghanistan are clashing against each other in their one-off Test that started from Wednesday, June 14 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh. The guests upon winning the toss invited their hosts to bat first, but Bangladesh started off quickly. The Litton Das-led side managed to cross 150 in 31 overs at a loss of one wicket. Apart from a positive opening by the Bangladesh batters, the day one of the Test also saw a misfield by the Afghanistan players helping their rivals score five runs in one ball.
In the 36th over into the innings, Bangladesh’s Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mahmudul Hasan Joy were batting, and their side were at 164 at the loss of one wicket. Mahmudul Hasan Joy was on strike when he cut the ball for two runs and managed to score his fifty. Though the Afghan players managed to save the ball from reaching the boundary, a throw by them didn’t back up, leading Joy to score three more runs.
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Meanwhile, before the onset of the series, the Bangladesh players were ‘urged’ to not focus on the mystery side of their rivals, instead were asked to keep their strengths in mind. The coach of the Bangladesh team coach Chandika Hathurusingha said that the players have little idea about the Afghanistan players but that shouldn’t be a problem to them if they keep their process in check. He said, “Normally we focus like 25% on the opposition strengths and weaknesses and 75% on what we do. But as it stands, we don’t know much about them so we can’t control that.”
In the ongoing Test match, Bangladesh seem to be confident as they recently took down Ireland in their last Test at home. On the other hand, Afghanistan have been desperate to win this match as they play a Test game after two years.