In the three-match T20I series in Sharjah, Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead after withstanding a determined attempt from Rashid Khan. Before Nurul Hasan and Rishad Hossain got them through the run chase, Rashid nearly pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a beautiful four-fer to derail Bangladesh.
Bangladesh, who are chasing just 152, started cautiously, managing just 14 runs from the opening three overs before the openers Parvez Hossain Emon and Tanzid Hasan Tamim opened up. In the same over when Bangladesh scored 50 runs in the powerplay, the latter hammered Mohammad Nabi for a few of sixes and was also given a number of reprieves.
After the powerplay, Tanzid Hasan gained control by hitting Nabi and Noor Ahmad with sixes each. Then, both openers cleared the ropes once more to carry on their attack. At this moment, with Bangladesh leading 95/0 at the midway stage, the outcome seemed inevitable. Before Fareed Ahmad offered Afghanistan an opening, the pair, who were both in their fifties, were engaged in a century stand.
Rashid then took full advantage of that opening by dismissing Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hassan in the same over, then shocking the Bangladeshi camp with two more wickets in his last over.
Noor then joined in, causing more damage in the next over as Bangladesh’s score dropped sharply from 109/0 to 118/6. Afghanistan now seemed on the verge of victory, but Rishad and Nurul spoilt the celebration. Before Nurul hit consecutive sixes to help Bangladesh secure the victory, they set up sensible boundaries to reduce the score from 12 to 16.
Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a thrilling start with three boundaries in the first over of the evening, but they struggled for the most of their innings. By the end of the powerplay, Darwish Rasooli had been run out to stutter at 33/3 after they had lost both of their openers. Bangladesh kept picking up wickets despite Rahmanullah Gurbaz seemed to be in form.
Afghanistan had just four wickets left in the innings when Gurbaz left for 40 with just over five overs to spare. The last three overs, though, were incredibly fruitful. Before leaving, Nabi hit three sixes in the 18th over, and Sharafuddin Ashraf made a brief appearance to help Afghanistan reach 150, which nearly proved to be sufficient when Bangladesh hit the self-destruction button.
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