Bangladesh suffered an embarrassing defeat to Afghanistan. Mohammad Ghazafar’s spin left the Tigers stunned. They lost their last 7 wickets in just 25 balls, resulting in a 92-run defeat for Shanto’s team.
The Tigers were well on their way to an easy victory. Chasing a target of 236 runs, they were at 120 for 2 in 25.5 overs. However, the team collapsed and was all out for just 143 runs in 34.3 overs.
Bangladesh faced Afghanistan today (Wednesday) in the first match of the three-match ODI series in Sharjah. Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat first.
Afghanistan did not have a good start. Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman’s fiery spells left them at 71 for 5 wickets. At one point, it seemed they might be bowled out quickly. But Nabi came to the rescue.
Hashmatullah Shahidi provided excellent support, and the duo built a valuable partnership of 104 runs off 122 balls. As a result, Afghanistan posted 234 runs in 49.4 overs. The Afghan captain was dismissed for 52 off 92 balls, while Nabi scored 84 off 79 balls.
Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman each took four wickets, while the remaining wicket was taken by Shariful Islam.
In pursuit of a modest target, Bangladesh lost the wicket of Tanzid Tamim early. The opening partnership was broken at just 12 runs in 3.1 overs. However, Soumya Sarkar provided a good start for the team, though he departed with the regret of not converting it into a bigger score.
Soumya, who had a 53-run partnership off 54 balls with captain Shanto, was dismissed for 33 off 45 balls. Bangladesh lost their second wicket at 65 runs in 12 overs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz then joined the captain to steady the innings.
Both played cautiously and responsibly, taking their partnership past fifty. Bangladesh’s total crossed the three-figure mark. By the end of 25 overs, the Tigers were at 118 for 2.
However, everything changed suddenly. In the 26th over, Ghazafar dismissed the well-set Bangladesh captain. Shanto fell just three runs short of a fifty, scoring 47 off 68 balls. Miraz added another 12 runs with Tawhid Hridoy before the collapse began.
What happened next is something Hridoy and Miraz would likely want to forget. Ghazafar dismissed Miraz, who scored 28 off 51 balls, in the 30.4 over. In the next over, Mahmudullah Riyad (2) fell to Rashid Khan. The real blow came in the 33rd over.
Ghazafar took 3 wickets in that over. He dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim (1) with the first ball, sent back Rishad Hossain (1) in the fifth ball, and got Taskin out for a golden duck with the last ball. Ghazafar reached the milestone of five wickets for the first time in his career.
He also dismissed Shariful Islam as the final wicket, ending with figures of 6 wickets for 26 runs. Rashid Khan took Tawhid Hridoy’s wicket (11) in between. Seven Bangladeshi batsmen were dismissed for single-digit scores.
With this defeat, Bangladesh is now trailing 1-0 in the series.
