Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by eight runs in a thrilling Asia Cup contest, keeping their Super Four hopes alive, at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday.
Nasum Ahmed gave Bangladesh a dream start, trapping Atal for a golden duck off the first ball of the innings and then dismissing Ibrahim Zadran shortly after. Afghanistan limped to 27-2 in the powerplay, well behind Bangladesh’s own aggressive start.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz offered resistance with a fluent 35, but wickets at regular intervals kept the required run rate climbing. Gulbadin Naib fell to a sharp return catch by Rishad Hossain, while Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman applied further pressure.
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Azmatullah Omarzai briefly revived Afghanistan’s chase, smashing 30 off 16 balls, including two towering sixes in the 14th over. His dismissal to Taskin’s clever slower ball left the lower order with too much to do.
The death overs were full of twists and turns. A brilliant piece of fielding from Nurul Hasan resulted in Karim Janat being run out.
Afghanistan’s last hope, Rashid Khan, was then undone by Mustafizur’s wide, slower yorker. In the end, Bangladesh’s bowlers and fielders held their nerve, especially in the final overs, to close out the win.
Mustafizur finished with three wickets, while Taskin, Nasum, and Rishad grabbed two apiece. For Afghanistan, the defeat marked the 12th time they have failed to chase a target above 140 against a full-member Test nation in T20Is.
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