Asia Cup: Bangladesh defeat valiant Afghanistan by 8 runs in a thriller, fight for Super Four spots intensifies

ABU DHABI: An excellent exhibition of spin and some fantastic death overs bowling by Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman took Bangladesh to a nail-biting eight run win over Afghanistan in their Asia Cup clash at Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

With this win, Bangladesh retain their second spot in the group with two wins and a loss, total of four points. Sri Lanka is at the top with two wins in two matches. With a win and loss each, Afghanistan stays at third spot. If Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka in the final Group B clash, all three teams would have two wins each, with things coming down to net-run-rate.

During a run-chase of 155 runs, Nasum Ahmed struck on the first ball for Bangladesh, removing Sediqullah Atal, the half-centurion against Afghanistan for a golden duck.

Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz tried to get the scoreboard running with a few boundaries, but Nasum did not let Zadran go on for too long, trapping him lbw for a 12-ball five. Afghanistan was 18/2 in 4.1 overs.

At the end of six overs, Afghans were in a tricky spot at 27/2, with Gurbaz joined by Gulbadin Naib. The eighth over by Shamim Hossain fetched Afghanistan 16 runs, including a six by Gurbaz and a four by Naib.

Afghanistan reached the 50-run mark in 8.1 overs. However, they got themselves in trouble by giving Rishad Hossain two quick wickets. At the end of 10 overs, Bangladesh was 61/3, after Rishad got rid of Naib for 16 in 14 balls, with two fours. Gurbaz, who was looking to up the attack, ended up handing a catch to Jaker Ali at deep backwards square leg, gone for 35 in 31 balls, with two fours and two sixes. Afghanistan was four down at 62/4 in 10.2 overs.

At the end of 13th over, a fine delivery by pacer Mustafizur Rahman got rid off an experienced Mohammed Nabi for a sluggish 15 in 15 balls, with a six, with a thick inside-edge crashing into his stumps. Afghanistan was halfway done at 77/5.

Azmatullah Omarzai looted a total of 20 runs from the 14th over bowled by spinner Saif Hassan, including two sixes and a four. Afghanistan reached the 100-run mark in 14.4 overs.

Azmatullah’s fightback was finally ended by Taskin Ahmed, with Saif taking a safe catch at backwards point. The all-rounder was gone for a fiery 30 in 16 balls, with a four and three sixes. Afghanistan was 109/4 in 15.4 overs. Afghans needed 45 runs in the final four overs.

In the next over, skipper Rashid continued piling pressure on Bangladesh bowlers, launching Mustafizur for a no-look six and a four, collecting 14 more runs for his side. However, some fielding brilliance from Nurul Hasan and Litton Das sent back Karim Janat for a 8-ball six. Afghanistan was 124/7 in 17.1 overs.

In the 19th over, after being hit for a four, Mustafizur bounced back by picking up Rashid for a quickfire 20 off 11 balls (two fours and a six), reducing Afghanistan to 132/8 in 18.2 overs. On the next over, Allah Ghazanfar edged one to the keeper, giving Mustafizur a chance at a match-sealing hat-trick, and he missed it.

In the final over, Afghanistan needed 22 runs. In the final over, with 21 needed in four, Noor Ahmed took a massive swing for a six, but a much slower ball from Taskin Ahmed next gave a no run, dashing Afghanistan’s hopes. However, after a six on the penultimate ball, Noor perished on the final ball, as Bangladesh won by eight runs, bowling out Afghanistan for 146 runs.

Mustafizur (3/28) and Taskin (2/34) were the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh as far as pacers were concerned, with spinners Nasum (2/11) and Rishad (2/19) stealing the spotlight with their wizardly spin, which choked a valiant Afghanistan.

Earlier, despite a spirited bowling display from Afghanistan, they failed to restrict Bangladesh before they soared to a competitive total of 154/5 in 20 overs. Bangladesh faced a quartet of Rashid, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Nabi and Allah Ghazanfar but managed to fare well in the first innings, which was a tale of two halves.

Opening pair, Saif Hassan (30 in 28 balls, with two fours and a six) and Tanzid Hasan (52 in 31 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes), raised a 63-run opening stand, handing a solid foundation to Bangladesh before the former got dismissed.

Captain Litton (9 off 11 balls) fumbled as the scoring rate slumped heavily. Despite being well-placed at 87/1 after 10 overs, Bangladesh could not capitalise in the second half of the innings and managed to post 154/5, scoring just 67 runs in the next half of the innings and losing four wickets.

Towhid Hridoy (26 off 20, with a four and six) got off to a composed start but failed to convert his performance into something of significance. Nurul chipped in with a handy 12* off 6 deliveries to propel Bangladesh past the 150-run mark.

Noor (2/23) and skipper Rashid (2/26) were the pick of the bowlers, while Azmatullah Omarzai got one wicket.

Rashid cemented his place at the summit of the wicket-taking chart in the tournament’s history during the match. The 26-year-old ball tweaker moved to the top with 14 wickets in 10 matches at 18.00, with best figures of 3/22 in T20I Asia Cup history. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the star Indian pacer known for his quality swing, slipped to second with 13 wickets in six appearances at 9.46, with best figures of 5/4.

Brief Scores: Bangladesh: 154/5 (Tanzid Hasan 52, Towhid Hridoy 26, Noor Ahmad 2/23) won against Afghanistan: 146 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 35, Azmatullah Omarzai 30, Mustafizur Rahman 3/28). (ANI)