Published: Oct 01, 2016, 09:06 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 01, 2016, 09:06 PM (IST)
Bangladesh have hammered Afghanistan in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) at Dhakan, winning the match by 141 runs. In this process, Bangladesh have also won the three-ODI series 2-1 and will be upbeat facing England, their next visitors, at home. Winning the toss in the 3rd ODI, Bangladesh decided to bat and riding on opener and Man of the Match Tamim Iqbal‘s century managed to sail to 279 for 8 in 50 overs. Bangladesh bowlers were expected to deliver in this crunch encounter and they did not disappoint as they earned a comprehensive victory. Mosharraf Hossain’s three wickets along with contributions from Taskin Ahmed and skipper, Mashrafe Mortaza helped them dominate Afghanistan. Bangladesh also reached to their 100th win in ODIs which makes this win memorable. Full Cricket Scorecard, Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, 3rd ODI, Dhaka
Earlier in the match, Bangladesh have got to a competitive total even though they were prevented some valuable runs in the death overs as Afghanistan bowlers came back to their groove. Tamim and No. 3 batsman, Sabbir Rahman (65) added 140 runs for the second wicket to give their team a solid platform to consolidate. Shakib Al Hasan came at No. 4 but vanished after scoring 17 as Bangladesh lost the plot after Tamim was dismissed for 118. Tamim, after this innings, also became the Bangladeshi to score maximum hundreds in ODIs. After Shakib, wicketkeeper-batsman, Mushfiqur Rahim followed him soon for 12. ALSO READ: Bangladesh post 279 for 8 vs Afghanistan in 3rd ODI
At one stage, Bangladesh were cruising at 215 for 2 in 40 overs but managed only 64 runs off the last 60 balls of their innings. The hosts would have hoped for getting a total in excess of 300 but their lackluster lower-order and Afghanistan’s effective death bowling stopped Bangladesh from reaching 300. The same thing happened in first ODI when Bangladesh were cruising at one stage but were pulled back again in final overs. They will be wary of this fact and want to work towards improving in this aspect before facing a tougher outfit in form of England.
From Afghanistan’s point of view, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mirwais Ashraf and Dawlat Zadran were economical and picked wickets among them but Rahmat Shah and Samiullah Shenwari were expensive. Afghanistan used as many as seven bowlers which shows their skipper tried and tested almost every option in hand to get his team back to a winning position.
Afghanistan were again starchy in their fielding as they dropped Tamim early in his innings and they were penalised as he went onto score a big hundred for the hosts. This pretty much changed the outcome of the game and Afghanistan will blame themselves for their loss.
Bangladesh’s score could have been less than 270 had it not been a composed cameo by Mahmudullah. He rescued his team from further collapse in the last ten overs. Mahmudullah has always been Bangladesh’s dependable player and stitched another handy knock when required. ALSO READ: Tamim scores most 100s in ODIs for BAN in 3rd ODI vs AFG
Bangladesh bowlers were all over the lackluster Afghanistan side with the white ball as they chipped in with wickets from the first ten overs itself. Afghanistan were 89 for 7 at one stage and a brief partnership between Rashid Khan and Najibullah Zadran helped them from big humiliation. They added 43 runs for the eight wicket. Mohammad Shahzad failed as he went without scoring. Rahmat Shah and Nawroz Mangal got starts but could not convert as the rest of the batting crumbled on the big night.
Bangladesh won the first ODI by a whisker coming from behind to win by 7 runs. The second ODI was also in Bangladesh’s hand for most part during their batting but flattered as Nabi and Rashid chipped in with regular wickets to dent their progress. Bangladesh did not allow Afghanistan to get past the finish line easily but Afghanistan emerged victorious by 3 wickets in the end. ALSO READ: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan LIVE Streaming: Watch 3rd ODI Live telecast & TV Coverage
With the series leveled at 1-1, Afghanistan were expected to pull off a competitive performance but they flattered in the series decider. On the other hand, Bangladesh maintained their successful record, in recent past, at home as they have now registered their fifth consecutive series win. Bangladesh had earlier defeated visitors such as Pakistan, India and South Africa and Zimbabwe to make their home ground some sort of fortress for them. England will feel they have a task in hand when they face Bangladesh in a few days time, especially in the 50-overs format.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 279 for 8 in 50 overs (Tamim Iqbal 118, Sabbir Rahman 65, Mahmudullah 32*; Mohammad Nabi 2 for 41, Rashid Khan 2 for 39) beat Afghanistan 138 all out in 33.5 overs (Nawroz Mangal 33, Rahmat Shah 36; Mosharraf Hossain 3 for 24, Taskin Ahmed 2 for 31) by 141 runs.
