After chasing 148 in the second Twenty20 International, Bangladesh took an unbeatable 2-0 lead over Afghanistan with a close two-wicket victory, causing Afghanistan to suffer their fourth consecutive T20I loss, three of which came at Bangladesh’s hands. Before Bangladesh’s middle-order put an end to a furious Azmatullah Omarzai (4 for 23) with the ball, the opposition was held to 147 for 5 by frugal spells from Shoriful Islam (1 for 13), Mohammad Saifuddin (0 for 22), and Nasum Ahmed (2 for 25).
Bangladesh had started the day with a thrilling 109-run opening partnership, but today Omarzai bowled both openers for two, leaving the pursuing team at 16 for 2 in the fourth over. Bangladesh lost their top three for just 24 runs after Saif Hassan, who had struck two sixes and a four in a brief stint, fell in the following over. Jaker Ali and Shammim Hossain were tasked with putting the innings back to life, and the former got the ball moving early on by slapping past cover and sweeping Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Jaker added two fast sixes to help the pursuing team get back into the game.
The 56-run partnership ended when Jaker fell to the legspinner after swiping Rashid for four. Nurul Hasan contributed useful boundaries, but Afghanistan retaliated by having Noor scalp Shammim. In the 16th over, Nurul hit two sixes off Nabi to reduce the equation to 28 off the final four, with 44 needed off the final 30. Afghanistan, however, persisted. Azmatullah took two wickets in three balls after Rashid removed Nasum Ahmed, leaving Bangladesh with 19 from 12.
However, Shoriful hit a four in the last over to give Bangladesh another victory after Noor gave up 17 in the 19th over.
Sediqullah Atal and Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan’s openers, had earlier amassed a 55-run partnership with the bat, although it was slow. Before the former was removed, it took them about eight overs to arrive. Three overs later, Zadran dropped, ending his arduous 37-ball 38. As Bangladesh started choking Afghanistan, 18-year-old Wafiullah Tarakhil was overtaken by Rishad Hossain. While watching the devastation from the other end, Gurbaz continued to press the accelerator button.
Rasooli fell to the left-arm spinner after hitting a six against Rishad and Nasum. Around the same time, Gurbaz also altered tactics and smashed two timely sixes off Rishad. However, Shoriful’s yorker on the stumps terminated Gurbaz’s time at the crease. Afghanistan reached 147 for 5 as Nabi delivered a few lustful strikes, but it wasn’t enough in the end.
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