At the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, here on Tuesday, Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in a Group B match and advanced to the Super Fours of the 2022 Asia Cup thanks to a disciplined bowling performance and a ruthless batting effort.
Afghanistan were the first team to advance to the Super Fours after back-to-back victories over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The batsmen from Bangladesh struggled to get going for the majority of the innings on a dusty pitch with a fair amount of grip and twists after winning the toss and choosing to bat first.
The spin twins from Afghanistan Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/16) and Rashid Khan (3/22) spun their webs and bowled with precise length and lines throughout the powerplay and middle overs, respectively.
When Mahmudullah (25 off 27) was dismissed in the 15.4 overs, Bangladesh was 89-6 and appeared to be in danger of losing for less than 100 runs. Mehidy Hasan's 12-ball 14 and Mosaddek Hossain's 31-ball 48, though, gave Bangladesh some hope of recovery and helped them to a decent score of 127/7 in 20 overs.
Najibullah Zadran (43 not out off 17) and Ibrahim Zadran (42 not out off 41) performed outstanding performances to help Afghanistan defeat Pakistan with seven wickets still in hand in 18.3 Overs.
Apart from Najibullah and Ibrahim, Hazratullah Zazai also played a crucial knock (23 off 26). Mosaddek Hossain (1/12), Shakib Al Hasan (1/13), and Mohammad Saifuddin (1/27) were the wicket-takers for Bangladesh.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 127/7 in 20 overs (Mosaddek Hossain 48 not out, Mahmudullah 25; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3/16 and Rashid Khan 3/22) lost to Afghanistan 131-3 in 18.3 overs (Najibullah Zadran 43 not out, Ibrahim Zadran 42 not out, Mosaddek Hossain 1/12) by 7 wickets.