Afghan star spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/16) and Rashid Khan (3/22) ran through a reckless Bangladesh batting team to limit the opposition to 127.
Bangladesh stifled Afghanistan in the chase before Najibullah’s 43 belligerents, not out of 17 balls, including six sixes, allowed his side to cross the line in 18.3 overs.
How it happened
Ibrahim Zadran also contributed with 42 from 41 as he shared a 69-from-36 unbeaten run with Najibullah.
What a victory! 🙌Things went all the way but AfghanAtalan led by Zadran duo of @iamnajibzadran 43* (17… https://t.co/lf7IJo0mmt
– Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) 1661880241000
With their second win in as many games, Afghanistan also became the first team to qualify for the Super 4s.
Like Bangladesh, Afghanistan also struggled to increase the rating rate.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan opened the bowl for Bangladesh and returned with an impressive 1-for-13 in four overs. The other bowlers were also accurate, as the Afghan batters couldn’t put them away.
After openers Hazratullah Zazai (23) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (11) fell, Afghanistan found themselves with 80 over the last 10 overs.
As the batters struggled to find the big hits, it looked like the game would end on the wire. However, a six-barrage from Najibullah quickly changed the course of the match.
It was normal for the southpaw to end the match with a six.
Earlier, Mossadek Hossain (48 on 31 balls) was the only Bangladeshi batter to play smart and save Bangladesh from redness.
It was the pacers who rocked Sri Lanka in Afghanistan’s previous game, but the team’s traditional strength of spin took its toll here as Mujeeb and Rashid shared three wickets apiece.
The spinners had a clear plan to target the stumps and the Bangladesh batters opted to play cross shots against them resulting in their downfall.
Mujeeb shattered the backbone of Bangladesh’s hitter by hitting three times on the power play. He used the slider effectively to get through the stumps of southpaw Mohammad Naim (6) before Anamul Haque (5) launched into the slog sweep to get stuck in front of the stumps.
Mujeeb’s third scalp was that of opposing skipper Shakib Al Hasan (11) who played a bad shot to see his stumps dislodged.
Number one spinner Rashid then joined the party by taking out seasoned Mushfiqur Rahim (1) with a googly. He got rid of southpaw Afif Hussain (12 from 15 balls) with a broken leg, leaving Bangladesh desperate at 53 for five. The fast pace of the two spinners didn’t give the hitters time to free their arms.
The experienced Mahmudullah (25) and Hossain tried to stabilize the sleeves but the damage was already done.
Average pace Azamatullah Omarzai was brought into the attack in the 20th in which he did well to concede just seven points.
