Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and chose to bat first against Bangladesh in the second ODI of the series in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Shahidi said the fresh pitch could aid higher scoring, making it an ideal surface to post a competitive total.

Bangladesh made two changes, resting Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud and including Rishad Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz said a target of 240-250 could be chaseable, particularly with dew expected later in the game.

Afghanistan fielded the same XI that secured a five-wicket win in the first ODI, where Bangladesh had batted first.

Bangladesh last won an ODI series against Afghanistan in 2022. Since then, both teams have won two series apiece, making the current contest evenly poised.

Playing XIs:

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Bashir Ahmad

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Saif Hassan, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), Nurul Hasan (wk), Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

MN/