Afghanistan is the first team to secure a place in the Super Four of the Asia Cup 2022. The two successive victories sealed the Afghan to play in the Super Four. Last night, they defeated Bangladesh in a thrilling match at Sharjah Cricket Ground, where Najibullah Zadran’s unbeaten 43 off 17 balls earned two points for Afghanistan.
As it happened
Shakib Al Hasan, the T20 skipper of Bangladesh, won the toss and decided to bat first at the Sharjah Cricket Ground. So, Mohammad Naim and Anamul Haque came into the pitch to start the innings for Bangladesh. But they failed to make a good impact on the crease. Afghan spinner Mujibur Rahman picked up both batsmen in his first two overs.
After that, Shakib Al Hasan tried to build a partnership. He intended to be aggressive since he came to the pitch. But Mujibur Rahman didn’t let Shakib make a big score. In the 6th over, Shakib Al Hasan lost his wicket after scoring 11 off 9 balls. Mushfiqur Rahim, another experienced batsman of Bangladesh, departed the pitch with one run only.
It seemed Bangladesh could become all-out before 100 runs. But, Mosaddek Hossain played a crucial inning in the lower order. He remained not out in 48 runs. Relying on his bat, Bangladesh scored 127 runs in 20 overs.
Afghanistan had a slow start in chasing the target. They picked up only 15 runs in the opening partnership. After that, Rahmanullah Gurbaz lost his wicket to Shakib Al Hasan. Hazratullah Zazai, the other opener, also departed the pitch after a while, scoring 23 runs.
Then Ibrahim Zadran came into the crease and scored an important 42 runs for the Afghans. But Bangladesh made a U-turn by picking his wicket. At this point, the momentum was in favor of Bangladesh. The required run rate for Afghanistan was higher than 12. But Najibullah Zadran started batting very aggressively in the final three overs. With six sixes and one four, Najibullah Zadran scored 43 runs only from 17 balls, which helped Afghanistan to chase the target within 19 overs.
Score Card
Bangladesh: 127/7 (20 Overs)
Afghanistan: 131/3 (18.3 Overs)
Player of the Match: Mujibur Rahman 3/16 (4 Overs)