Having taken giant strides in the recent past, Bangladesh now eye their maiden semi-final appearance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. But first, they need to win all their remaining matches to keep that hope alive. And in Afghanistan, who gave India a run for their money, they face a major hurdle. Get the latest updates and live cricket score of the 31st match of the ICC CWC 2019 between BAN and AFG here. 

5:58 PM IST: Mujeeb Ur Rahman on with his ninth over. Five runs from the over. BAN-177/4 after 38 overs. 24 runs from the last overs.

 

5:54 PM IST: Dawlat Zadran on with his seventh over. Mushfiqur Rahim hits a mighty six off the second ball, over long on. First boundary after 12 overs. And fifty for him, in 56 balls. Back-to-back fifty for him. Nine runs from the over. BAN-172/4 after 37 overs.

 

5:50 PM IST: Rashid Khan on with his sixth over. Just two singles. Brilliant over. BAN-163/4 after 36 overs.

5:46 PM IST: Dawlat Zadran returns. Four singles. BAN-161/4 after 35 overs. So far 103 dot balls, and no six either. Brilliant from Afghanistan bowlers.

5:41 PM IST: Rashid Khan resumed the proceedings after the break. Mahmudullah required some medical attention. He was hobbling. Four singles from the over. BAN-157/4 after 34 overs.

5:30 PM IST: Gulbadin Naib continues. Two singles. BAN-153/4 after 33 overs. 14 runs and two wickets in the last five overs. Drinks.

 

5:19 PM IST: Mahmudullah is the new man. Gulbadin Naib continues. Soumya Sarkar just beats the ball to escape a run-out, off the fourth ball. Five runs from the over. BAN-148/3 after 31 overs.

5:08 PM IST: Gulbadin Naib on with his fifth over. Three singles. BAN-142/2 after 29 overs. Tigers have failed to increase the soring rate. Only 18 from the last five.

4:57 PM IST: Mohammad Nabi on with his seventh over. Four runs from the over. BAN-136/2 after 26 overs. 33 runs from the last five overs.

4:54 PM IST: Gulbadin Naib returns. One busy over. Three doubles, then two singles. Eight runs from the over, and 50-run stand between Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, in 48 balls.

4:49 PM IST: Rahmat Shah, leg-spinner, gets his first over. Mushfiqur Rahim hits the last ball for a four to deep mid-wicket. Seven runs from the over. BAN-124/2 after 24 overs.

4:45 PM IST: Dawlat Zadran on with his fourth over. 10 runs from the over, including a lucky four off the fifth ball. Musahfiqur Rahim got a top-edge and it sailed over the wicket-keeper's head. BAN-117/2 after 23 overs.

4:40 PM IST: Rashid Khan on with his fourth over. Four runs from the over. BAN-107/2 after 22 overs.

4:37 PM IST: Dawlat Zadran on with his fourth over. Eight runs from the over. BAN-103/2 after 21 overs.

Record Alert! Shakib Al Hasan becomes first Bangladesh player to notch up 1000 runs in World Cup.

4:31 PM IST: Rashid Khan on with his third over. Six runs from it -- four singles and a double. BAN-95/2 after 20 overs.

 

4:26 PM IST: Dawlat Zadran returns. Four runs -- a single, one wide and a double. BAN-89/2 after 19 overs. Drinks.

4:19 PM IST: Rashid Khan continues. A wide and two singles. BAN-785/2 after 18 overs.

 

4:10 PM IST: Rashid Khan, leg spinner, on with his first over. Singles off the first and last ball. BAN-76/1 after 16 overs.

 

4:06 PM IST: Mohammad Nabi on with his fifth over. A single off the third ball. BAN-74/1 after 15 overs. 30 runs from the last five overs.

 

4:03 PM IST: Gulbadin Naib on with his second over. Tamim Iqbal charges down the ground and hits the first ball for a four, past mid-on fielder. Shakib Al Hasan hits the last ball for a four, to deep mid-wicket. 12 runs from the over. BAN-73/1 after 14 overs.

 

4:00 PM IST: Mohammad Nabi continues. Five runs from his 13th over. BAN-61/1 after 13 overs. Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan have added 38 runs in 52 balls.

 

3:56 PM IST Afghan skipper Gulbadin Naib, right-arm medium pacer, introduces himself. He manages to induce a leading edge off Shakib Al Hasan, but the ball lands in no man's land near midwicket. Seven runs from the over. BAN-56/1 after 12 overs.

 

3:51 PM IST: Mujeeb Ur Rahman on with his sixth over. Five runs from the over. BAN-49/1 after 11 overs.

 

3:49 PM IST: Mohammad Nabi continues. Shakib Al Hasan hits the fourth ball for a four, through backward point. Nine runs from the over. BAN-44/1 after 10 overs.

 

3:45 PM IST: Mujeeb Ur Rahman is rushing through his overs. One run -- a wide -- from the over. BAN-35/1 after nine overs. 12 runs and a wicket in the last five overs.

 

3:42 PM IST: Another good over from Mohammad Nabi. Three singles. BAN-34/1 after eight overs.

 

3:39 PM IST: Mujeeb Ur Rahman continues. Three singles from his fourth over. BAN-31/1 after seven overs.

 

3:36 PM IST: Bowling change. Mohammad Nabi, offspinner, on. Three singles. BAN-28/1 after six overs.

 

 

3:27 PM IST: Dawlat Zadran continues. Liton Das plays the first ball through mid-wicket. It will be a four in other grounds, but at Rose Bowl, it's only a three. Three dots, then Tamim Iqbal gets a lucky four. His drive just goes past the diving fielder at mid-off. Seven runs from the over. BAN-23/0 after four overs.

3:22 PM IST: Mujeeb Ur Rahman continues. Three singles from it. BAN-16/0 after three overs.

3:19 PM IST: Dawlat Zadran, right-arm fast medium, on. After two dots, Liton Das hits the third ball for a four through point. A single to end the over. Five runs from it. BAN-13/0 after two overs.

 

3:14 PM IST: 18-year-old Mujeeb Ur Rahman, offspinner, starts the proceedings. Liton Das takes a single to long one, then two wides. Das hits the second legal delivery for a four, thanks to a fumble at cover by Rahmat Shah. A single off the fourth ball, and eight runs from the over. Tamim Iqbal is Das' opening partner.

 

2:47 PM IST: Couple of changes for both the teams. Saifuddin and Mosaddek in for Rubel and Sabbir for Bangladesh, while Afghanistan have brought Dawlat and Shenwari in Alam and Zazai. Here are the teams -

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaz (c), Mustafizur Rahman

Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib (c), Samiullah Shinwari, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

2:00 PM IST: It continued to rain in Southampton. And the match will be affected. That's the news.

1:55 PM IST: This will be a huge week. All the top four teams in the table -- New Zealand, Australia, India and England have tournament-defining matches. READ our sneak peek.

1:50 PM IST: Relive that sensational Mohammed Shami hattrick against Afghanistan HERE.

 

1:30 PM IST: This is the final fixture of Cricket World Cup 2019 at The Rose Bowl. Here's how you can explore history, wildlife and the coastal regions of the busiest cruise port of England, that is Southampton.

 

Bangladesh are almost out of the contention of making it to the semifinals with five points from six games. However, if they manage to win all their three remaining games and results of matches of other teams go in their favour, the Tigers might sneak in the top four at the end of the round-robin league stage. 

Bangladesh will rely on their batting, which has been a revelation in this World Cup. Shakib Al Hasan, who is the second leading scorer of the tournament, will once again lead the charge. And his presence in the centre will be crucial for the Tigers once again.

After hunting down a target of 322 against West Indies with ease, Mashrafe Mortaza & Co fought admirably in a 382-run chase against Australia, finishing with an impressive 333/8.

However, it's their bowling which has undone the batsmen's good work. They have conceded scores in excess of 320 in each of their last three completed games. 

And against a formidable Afghanistan bowling attack, Bangladesh's own bowlers will have to step up to make life easier for their batsmen.

Afghanistan will be aiming to replicate that performance against India and earn their first win. After being comprehensively beaten in the first four games, Afghanistan came out with a much-improved performance against tournament favourites India.

Their bowling unit -- which was taken for plenty by England as they posted 397/8 - delivered a commanding performance against the famed Indian batting line-up for a below-par total of 224. They, in fact, had a great chance of causing the biggest upset of the ongoing tournament. But, their batsmen, barring Mohammad Nabi, failed to rise to the occasion.

Gulbadin Naib would hope that both his batsmen and bowlers perform well as a unit against Bangladesh which have looked quite convincing in the ongoing tournament. 

Key Facts

Bangladesh and Afghanistan are meeting for the eighth time in ODIs, with the Tigers winning four and losing three.

Shakib Al Hasan, with 425 runs at an average of 106.25 in five innings, is the only Bangladeshi batsman to score over 400 runs in a single World Cup.

Shakib Al Hasan has more wickets in 50-over games between the two nations than any other bowler, claiming 13.

Shakib has averaged 106 from his five innings so far in the tournament.

Mahmudullah is the leading scorer in this fixture with 243 runs in six innings.

Rashid Khan, who took 129 wickets at an average of 16.89 in 61 innings, is the highest wicket-taker for Afghanistan in World Cup.

Key Quotes

"I think we're now getting better and better day by day. This is the team I wanted actually. Also in the batting side. So this is a good sign," Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib

"Everyone is expecting that we will win. Every match is the same in that we play to win. But I think we should be more careful in this game," Bangladesh batsman Mohammad Mithun

Squads

Afghanistan (from): Gulbadin Naib (c), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah (wk), Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Ikram Ali Khil

Bangladesh (from): Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Abu Jayed, Liton Das (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Mithun, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal