Asia Cup 2022: 3 players who can score the most runs in today's clash between Bangladesh and Afghanistan
In what could be another exciting clash at the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, Bangladesh are set to square off against Afghanistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday (August 30).
Bangladesh finished as the runners-up in the last two editions of the tournament and will be hoping for a better result this time around.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, made a great start to the tournament against a listless Sri Lankan unit in the opening match.
Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat against Afghanistan 🇧🇩🇦🇫
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The Mohammed Nabi-led unit delivered an all-round performance, winning the encounter with eight wickets in hand. A win on Tuesday night will see them qualify for the Super Four stage.
The average first-innings score in Sharjah in the last five T20 matches is 169 runs. The batters are likely to find it easy to score runs here and the spinners might play a key role in the second half of the match.
Ahead of the third game of the Asia Cup competition, between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, let's take a look at the top three batters who might lead the run-scoring charts in this game.
#3 Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan)
Highest Runs In Innings In T20I By Asian Batters:
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Afghanistan's potent batting line-up, in addition to their spin bowling, is one of their greatest assets. One of the key figures in their batting department is dashing opener Hazratullah Zazai.
The free-flowing left-hander showed his dominance and might in the previous game against Sri Lanka. Zazai remained unbeaten on 37 (off 28) and took his side over the line. He tackled both the pacers and spinners equally well and will be a threat to the opposition once again.
Zazai has the best T20I average (34.6) among all Afghani batters this year and will hope to rack up some crucial runs against Bangladesh.
#2 Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Veteran Shakib Al Hasan will want to lead from the front in the Asia Cup to ensure his team is successful in the multi-nation tournament. Shakib is a significant figure in the Bangladesh squad and a vital cog in their wheel.
Batting at No. 3, Shakib will glue the entire batting department together and use his experience to put the opposition bowlers under pressure.
Incidentally, Shakib's game against Afghanistan will be his 100th T20I.
#1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored a quickfire opening knock helping Afghanistan close the gap in the chase 🔥🇦🇫
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Another Afghani opener who had a terrific game in his last outing, Rahmanullah Gurbaz clobbered four maximums en route to his magnificent 18-ball 40. With his pure striking abilities, Gurbaz put on a show against Sri Lanka.
The right-handed wicket-keeper has been in some spectacular batting form in T20s this year, amassing 666 runs in 25 innings at an average of 30.3 and a strike rate of 164.
Gurbaz will fancy his chances of putting on another show in Sharjah, which is known for its short boundaries.