Photo: Collected

DHAKA, Oct 13, 2025 (BSS)- With an aim to avoid an ignominious whitewash in the ODI series, Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan in the third and final match at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tomorrow (Tuesday).

The match starts at 6pm (Bangladesh Time) and will be aired live on T-sports and Nagorik TV.

Bangladesh conceded a five-wicket defeat in the first ODI before tasting another crushing defeat in the second match by 81 runs after being bundled out for 109, giving Afghanistan an unassailable 2-0 lead.

The visiting Bangladesh side came into the ODI series, high on confidence following a clean sweep in the three-match T20 series against the same opponent. But now they are on the brink of tasting a reverse result.

The reckless batting was the chief reason for their series debacle. While the same issue also hampered them in the T20 series, they somehow managed to win it but in ODI, they appeared to be clueless. In fact their ODI performance was dismal even before the Afghanistan series.

After those two defeats at the hands of Afghanistan, Bangladesh lost 10 ODIs in the last 11 matches, a stat that widely exposed their shaky state in a format, which was often dubbed as their strongest fortress.

Skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz therefore urged to rectify the batting in a bid to avoid series whitewash and to have a consolation victory.

"We needed to get partnerships at the top order. It would have been a different scenario. But no batter took responsibility, which was disappointing," Miraz said.
 
"We have one match left. We have to come back strongly. The batters need to improve and take responsibility," he added.

The two sides met 21 times in ODI format with Bangladesh still having the upper-hand with 11 wins and 10 defeats. An Afghan victory would not only give them a whitewash but also level the win-loss ratio for the first time.
 
Squad:

Bangladesh: Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Captain), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Naim Sheikh, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Patwari, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmat Shah (Vice-Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wicketkeeper), Ikram Alikhil (Wicketkeeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad and Mohammad Saleem Safi

Reserves: Bilal Sami and Faridoon Dawoodzai.