Afghanistan will play the first of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh tomorrow (November 6) at their adopted home in UAE. Here's Wisden's pick of the betting odds for the game.
Afghanistan v Bangladesh 1st ODI: Who will win?
Historically, Bangladesh have the upper hand over Afghanistan in the format, with 10 wins from 16 matches. Afghanistan, however, have improved by leaps and bounds, gradually becoming a force to reckon with. After impressing in the ODI World Cup last year, they reached their first-ever semi-final in the T20 World Cup earlier in June. Recently, they defeated South Africa in the country's first-ever bilateral series against the opposition.
Though Batery are offering a 2.55 return on every pound betted for a Bangladesh win, Afghanistan are still the better-backed team by some distance, priced at 1.50.
AFG v BAN 1st ODI: Which team will have the highest opening partnership?
Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have been their batting nucleus in limited-overs cricket. Since 2023, the duo have put the joint-most (5) century opening stands in ODI cricket alongside Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. While Zadran is unavailable for the series due to an injury, Gurbaz’s presence is expected to give Afghanistan a rapid start. Afghanistan openers, priced at 1.72 on Batery, have a better chance of succeeding compared to Bangladesh’s, offering a return of 2.08 for every pound spent on Batery.
Afghanistan v Bangladesh 1st ODI: Which side will hit most fours and sixes?
Afghanistan hold an edge in this aspect as well. While they are solid at the top, the likes of Azamatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan give them middle-order firepower. They are expected to hit the most fours as well as the sixes, priced at 1.70 and 1.63 respectively.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, lack power hitters, a shortcoming which was exposed during their 0-3 T20I series loss against India last month. They have odds of 2.30 and 2.80 of hitting fours and sixes, respectively on Batery.
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