In what was an evenly contested competition, visitors Afghanistan emerged victorious by two wickets as they defeated hosts Bangladesh in the second one-Day International (ODI) at Mirpur to level the three-match ODI series at 1-1. The final and the decider match of this series will be played on October at Dhaka. Mohammad Nabi was named the Man of the Match for his all-rounder performance as he finished with the bowling figures of 10-3-16-2 and he scored 49 runs off 61 deliveries to make sure that his team won the match. Nabi’s made a partnership of 107 runs off 145 deliveries for the fifth wicket was the turning point of the match. Captain Asghar Stanikzai scored 57 off 95 deliveries to support his team in the middle overs.
Winning the toss, Afghanistan opted to bowl as the wicket was supposed to assist the spinners. The visitors’ pace attack did not bother the hosts batting order as their opener Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar got off to a good start. They went on to score 45 for the first wicket before Tamim was dismissed. Just after five runs the other opener Sarkar too was send back to the dugout by Mirwais who had also taken Tamim’s wicket. After the early debacle of two quick wickets, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim soaked in the pressure and made sure that their team crossed the 100 run mark easily without losing any further wickets. Just when it seemed like these two would take their team to a good score, the Afghanistan bowlers struck and struck hard as they got both of them in quick successions. The visitors captain Stanikzai deployed spin from both ends and the spin attack did wonders for them as they removed the strong middle order of Bangladesh.
Things were turning worse for the hosts as it seemed like they were on wicket losing spree and nothing could stop as the Afghanistan spinners were extracting great assist from the wicket. At one point the Bangladesh had put on 112 for the loss of two wickets, but the spin attack destroyed their middle order and made them totter at 18 for the loss of six wickets. It seemed like the host’s innings would get done well before 150 after captain Mashrafe Mortaza departed while the teams score stood at 141 with seven wickets down.
But it was debutant Mosaddek Hossain Saikat who batted beautifully to construct the team’s fallen score and take it beyond 200. Playing his first ever ODI match, the debutant displayed some responsible batting as he would let the good deliveries to the keeper’s gloves while dispatching the bad ones over the boundary ropes. His innings had the good mixture of attack and defense as he went on to score some useful runs along with the tail-enders. The lower batting order of Bangladesh should also be complemented as they too made sure that of not playing any reckless shots. Taijul Islam and Rubel Hossain scored ten runs each as they assisted Saikat on the other end.
Saikat remained unbeaten on an individual score of 45 as Bangladesh’s innings was ended at 208 with four balls to spare. Mohammad Nabi was the pick of the bowlers yet once again as he turned out to be the most economical bowler for the hosts as he gave away just 16 runs in his 1o overs as he grabbed two wickets. Rashid Khan too, proved very dangerously for the hosts as he finished with figures of 10-2-35-3. Mirwais Ashraf picked up two wickets while Naveen-ul-Haq and Rahmat Shah picked up one each.
When Afghanistan came out to bat, they had a small target of 209 ahead of them and given the talent their teams has, it did not look like a tough task. They just had to make sure that they started off well and did not play any reckless shots because the asking rate was well below 4. Mohammad Shahzad and Navroz Mangal gave their team a decent start and showed some maturity at the crease as they kept the scoreboard ticking against the Bangladesh seamers. But Shakib Al Hasan got the first breakthrough as he dismissed Mangal in his second over after the batsman had hit him for some glorious shots to the boundary fence. The first wicket seemed important for the hosts as they did not have many runs on the board and early breakthroughs would give them the necessary boost. Rahmat Shah was the second wicket that Shakib got in a matter of 3 balls.
Shah was given out as the ball hit his pads against an arm ball from Shakib which would have rattled his middle and leg stump. But the reply showed that there was a huge inside edge before the ball went to hit the pads. The visitors were looking in deep trouble when Hashmatullah Shahidi walked into bat, but Shahzad who was looking little awkward against the spin attack of Bangladesh started attacking the spinners. Mortaza got in debutant Saikat and the newbie got the success on his very first ball of his ODI career as he trapped Shahidi plumb and also he broke the 45 runs stand between the two. Things were looking worse for the visitors as it felt like they would go all down against the hosts spin attack as Shahzad also departed in quick succession after Shahidi on a reckless shot and the visitors were tottering on 63 runs with four wickets down. But Nabi and captain Stanikzai resurrected their falling innings and saw that their team got out pf a tight spot. From 63 for four, these two went to put their team in the driving seat as they registered 107 runs stand for the fifth wicket off 145 deliveries.
Amidst all this, skipper scored his half-century and just when it looked like Nabi too would raise his bat for getting to his fifty, a nipper from Bangladesh skipper Mortaza got the better of him. When Nabi departed, the visitors had to chase 39 runs off 66 deliveries which looked comfortable for them. But skipper Stanikzai who was all calm and content at one end, tried to do something extraordinary and went for glory shot and was dismissed. The disgust on his face after his dismissal was enough to understand how angry he was with himself and how that could change the fortune of the game. Shakib Al Hasan remained the star performer for the hosts as he finished with the figures of four for 47 runs in his spell of 10 overs.
But a timely innings from Najibullah Zadran who scored 22 off 32 balls in the latter stage of the game saw the hosts reaching the victory line. This too included some drama as the match went on till the last 12 balls wherein they required 11 off 12 deliveries. It was Mirwais Ashraf’s six over long-on to Taijul Islam in the 49th over that saw the Afghanistan coming as clear winners of the match. Najibullah Zadran was dismissed in the last over of the match when bis team required just a single to win the match. But Dawlat Zadran’s boundary on Taskin Ahmed’s third last ball of the match ensured that the visitors won the match.
It was an hard-fought battle which the visitors won and will take enormous confidence as they will have to battle out for the series decider at Dhaka on 1st of October. The hosts will have to polish their batting skills as they have had same woes in the first match of the series as well.
Brief Scores:
Bangladesh 208 in 49.2 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 38, Mosaddek Hossain 45*; Rashid Khan 3 for 35, Mohammad Nabi 2 for 16) lost to Afghanistan (Ashgar Stanikzai 57, Mohammad Nabi 49; Shakib Al Hasan 4 for 47) by 2 wickets.
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