After suffering a humiliating 1-2 loss to Afghanistan in the ODI series, the two teams faced off in the first T20I on Friday, July 14, at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Shakib-al-Hasan, the captain of Bangladesh, called on Afghanistan to bat first after winning the toss.
The choice was made in good faith when Nasum Ahmed removed opener Hazratullah Zazai (8 off 10) in the third over of the inning with 16 runs already scored. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (16 off 11) was likewise unable to maintain his explosive play for very long before Taskin Ahmed bowled him out in the fourth over of the innings.
After 7.4 overs, their side was in serious difficulty at 52/4 thanks to the poor performances of Karim Janat (3 off 9) and Ibrahim Zadran (8 off 6). Mohammad Nabi, who saw his team in peril, ended up being the anchor of the innings by scoring a magnificent half-century (54* off 40) as a result.
Najibullah Zadran (23 off 23) and Azmatullah Omarzai (33 off 18) provided strong support for him and helped Afghanistan reach 154/7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Rony Talukdar (4 off 5) was dismissed in the first over of the second inning by Fazalhaq Farooqi, who carried on his outstanding ODI series performance. Following the early success, Afghanistan’s bowlers pounded Bangladesh mercilessly. The hosts were left reeling at 64/4 after 10.1 overs as a result of their big sweeps of Najmul Hossain Shanto (14 off 12), Litton Das (18 off 19), and Shakib Al Hasan (19 off 17).
However, Shamim Hossain (33 off 25) and Towhid Hridoy (47 off 32) put up a 73-run partnership off 43 balls to get Bangladesh back into the match. Rashid Khan broke their resistance by removing Hossain in the 18th over. With five wickets in hand and only two runs needed out of the required five, Bangladesh needed just seven runs off the final over.
Karim Janat’s hat-trick significantly improved the game.
With Bangladesh requiring 2 off 2, with two wickets in hand, Karim Janat’s hat-trick broke the game wide open. As he hit Karim Janat for a four on the penultimate delivery to win his side, Shoriful Islam proved to be the shining knight for his side. Bangladesh headed into the first game of the three-match series with a two-wicket victory with one ball remaining.
With a spell of 3/15 in 1.5 overs, Karim Janat was Afghanistan’s preferred bowler. Twitter was awash with comments in response to Bangladesh’s exciting triumph.
Had Hridoy not maintained a strike rate above 145, it would have been a dismal day for Bangladesh cricket. #banvafg pic.twitter.com/n91QIQbYXM
— Roshan Singh (@TheRoshanSingh) July 14, 2023
🏏 Nail-biting victory for Bangladesh! 🇧🇩 @BCBtigers clinched the 1st T20I by 2 wickets and take the lead in the series 1-0. What a match it was! Hats off to Towhid Hridoy for his career-best highest individual T20I score of 47*(32). Superb knock! #BANvAFG pic.twitter.com/JkAWtWKjHw
— Syed Sami (@SamisDaily) July 14, 2023
Really like the look of Hridoy for Bangladesh, batting in a key position, has done well in the chances that he has got.
Good win for Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, was a tricky total this. Despite the Janat madness, that was good. #BANvAFG
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) July 14, 2023
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