Afghanistan may be embroiled in controversy surrounding their participation, yet players remain eager to demonstrate their best cricket.
Taskin and Shoriful have both bowled well in their initial spells on this small ground, finding good lines and lengths with their deliveries. Mustafizur should enjoy bowling at this later stage once his slower balls and cutters can cause havoc with batters’ timing.
In this article, we will discuss the main points or high lights of Afghanistan National Cricket Team vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team Timeline.
Top Run-Scorers
| Player | Team | Runs Scored | Balls Faced | Strike Rate | Highest Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Afghanistan | 43 | 55 | 78.18 | 43 |
| Litton Das | Bangladesh | 54* | 49 | 110.20 | 54* |
| Ibrahim Zadran | Afghanistan | 18 | 29 | 62.07 | 18 |
| Towhid Hridoy | Bangladesh | 14 | 9 | 155.56 | 14 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | Afghanistan | 10 | 12 | 83.33 | 10 |
Top Wicket-Takers
| Player | Team | Overs Bowled | Wickets Taken | Economy Rate | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 4 | 4 | 5.75 | 4/23 |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | Afghanistan | 3.5 | 4 | 6.78 | 4/26 |
| Rishad Hossain | Bangladesh | 4 | 3 | 6.50 | 3/26 |
| Taskin Ahmed | Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 3.00 | 1/12 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 4.25 | 1/17 |
Afghanistan vs Bangladesh
Afghanistan and Bangladesh have emerged as two of the most competitive sides in T20I cricket in recent times, boasting immense success on both sides. Matches between them always provide thrilling entertainment to fans; their last meeting at 2015 World Cup kept audiences riveted until its conclusion; now both teams are engaged in an ODI series in UAE that promises to deliver exciting cricket action!
The match began with national anthems from both teams before players lined up in the middle for a warm-up session. Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi selected an impressive squad with experienced players such as Rashid Khan and Allah Ghazanfar, along with rising stars Sediqullah Atal and Noor Ahmad.
Bangladesh openers Liton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto started strongly, but struggled against Afghanistan’s pace bowlers. Following an initial surge from their lower order batsmen, Mohammad Nabi took two wickets with accurate off spin deliveries that caught Shanto off guard before Nasum added one more by taking Farooqi out while trying to cut one that was slowing up on the pitch. The match finished 1-1 after two ODIs with both teams hoping for victory – Bangladesh hoping to clinch the series before returning home while Afghanistan hope they put pressure on Bangladesh to play their best cricket whilst simultaneously winning next game while hopefully beating Bangladesh at home as much as possible before returning home on Wednesday.
Afghanistan batting first
Before the action gets underway, players are assembling to sing their respective national anthems. Afghanistan will start off by using Shoriful Islam with the new ball and Sediqullah Atal will open up scoring.
Afghanistan will need to play well today as they boast some powerful hitters in their squad. The wicket here is conducive for batting, as its dimensions allow set batters to strike hard.
As we move into the Powerplay, the wicket appears to be getting slightly easier for batsmen as its sheen begins to dissipate; however, spinners still seem able to use its potential effectively.
Rabada gets the first wicket of the innings when he bowls a short delivery and causes a batter to attempt a pull shot, only for it to miss completely and be caught by midwicket fielder.
Nabi then secured another wicket. His delivery went ricocheting off Bavuma’s bat and, although there was an appeal filed by Bavuma, the umpire upheld this decision.
Bavuma attempted to hit through the covers but found himself without enough partners as the ball flew past his head for a catch. Bangladesh is struggling with Afghan spinners at present and must improve both shot selection and temperament to come closer to reaching their target. Although their scorecard may show otherwise, Bangladesh must improve as soon as possible for optimal success against this side of spin.
Afghanistan bowling first
Afghanistan began this match by bowling first with Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq and Azmatullah Omarzai all taking wickets to restrict Bangladesh to a low total on an ideal pitch for batting – led by leg spinner Rashid who earned himself Player of the Match honors with an incredible hat-trick performance!
South African openers may have struggled in the powerplay, but they managed to build an effective partnership and are in prime position for an impressive second innings score. Not losing wickets during powerplay and with dewfall expected shortly could also help push their score ahead significantly.
Kagiso Rabada comes on and strikes Omarzai with a short ball to his ribcage area, featuring extra bounce that Omarzai attempted to work off leg side but hit Rickelton behind the stumps’ glove; Rickelton took an outstanding catch dive-bombing to his left.
Mohammad Nabi strikes again. Bavuma tried to hit an over-midwicket delivery, but instead hit his pad. As soon as umpire went upstairs he was given out. This may have seemed somewhat unexpected but won’t matter now as Nabi takes Bavuma’s wicket with another short ball strike that hit Bavuma on top edge and was taken easily by midwicket fielders.
Afghanistan batting second
Mahmudullah has successfully increased the run rate during the final ten overs, as he and Mehidy Hasan have shared an outstanding fifth-wicket stand of 145 runs. If Bangladesh are to win this match easily they must emulate Afghanistan by playing more aggressive shots with aggressive intention.
Sediqullah Atal has had an outstanding innings after an uncertain start. The youngster is showing great maturity for his age, producing some breathtaking runs down the track to reach his half century against Mustafizur Rashid through covers.
Spencer Johnson caught him short at short midwicket to deny him of reaching one hundred. But Azmatullah Omarzai delivered an outstanding innings that propelled Afghanistan past the 270 mark in this match.
Ghazanfar has shown her expertise by staying within her lines and lengths for maximum control during her innings on this slow wicket, where the odd ball has gripped tightly.
Afghanistan have recovered nicely since their shaky start. Nabi and Shahidi have combined well, forcing Bangladesh backwards. But Afghanistan need Gurbaz to stay for longer if they want to win this match; his counter could have helped push them back onto their crease, while his wicket will allow Jansen and Ngidi more freedom when bowling.
Afghanistan bowling third
Bangladesh are in desperate need of a win against an Afghanistan side who have been on fire recently, particularly beating South Africa by seven wickets recently. Meanwhile, Bangladesh haven’t fared too well lately themselves and will hope that a win here can turn around their fortunes.
Rashid Khan goes for broke but to no avail as he gets caught at midwicket by an excellent fielder. Rashid was hoping to hit Mustafizur over the cow-corner but instead Mustafizur has other ideas and takes his wicket.
Batsmen struggle with the conditions as they play on a pitch that has been low and spinning at an odd ball. There’s a crack on the pitch which may play a part later, yet has not made batting easier at this point in time.
Mohammad Nabi manages to pick up one wicket, although it was close. When he tried to scoop it and got an edge instead, however, batsmen appealed and the umpire ruled against him.
Afghanistan batsmen have had another trying day against spinners who vary their pace and throw the ball into specific areas – an approach the batsmen cannot keep up with and keep losing wickets regularly.
Afghanistan batting fourth
Bangladesh are strong favourites to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asia Cup with their strong batting lineup and victory against Sri Lanka, in their final group game. Unfortunately, Afghanistan were in control throughout and were able to keep Bangladesh at bay until around 35th over when wickets started falling at key moments; Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi acknowledged this and claims his side needs to improve their fielding and bowling in future matches.
After an inauspicious start to their innings, Bangladesh openers Soumya Sarkar and Rahmanullah Gurbaz quickly increased the run rate with some quick hitting from both, including hitting boundaries off loose balls for 50 runs between them. Afghan bowlers struggled with finding rhythm with their ball while Bangladesh fielders’ inept fielding proved an additional obstacle to finding their groove with it.
Bangladesh openers continued their strong form, building an unassailable lead for their team. Sediqullah Atal was first to go, falling for 39 thanks to an incredible catch from Mehidy Hasan Miraz at square leg. Naib and Nabi tried their hardest but were both dismissed shortly thereafter before Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan took charge and guided Bangladesh to a total that far surpassed expectations; even with losing four wickets during their final ten overs, Bangladesh still managed to reach their target with over five overs left on their schedule!