Afghanistan’s batting unit had a topsy-turvy outing as they put on a score of 190 & were bowled out with 5.1 overs remaining in the match. Ibrahim Zadran was the lone warrior who scored 95 runs in 140 balls. Ibrahim Zadran was the major reason that Afghanistan went past 150 runs. Apart from Ibrahim Zadran, not a single batter scored 25 runs in the match, which was shocking.
Bangladesh shakes Afghanistan in powerplay overs
The surface at Sharjah wasn’t a belter one. Tanzim Hasan Sakib got the bumper wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz on the 5th ball of the over. Tanzim Hasan Shakib was delighted after dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who has the calibre to take the game away from the opposition in the powerplay overs itself. Afghanistan had won the 1st ODI match and has a chance to seal the ODI series today itself.
Tanvir Islam, the slow left-arm off-spinner, big wicket of Sediqullah Atal. All of a sudden, Afghanistan’s score was 38-2 in 8.4 overs. Ibrahim Zadran was seeing his mates fall like a pack of cards. Ibrahim Zadran made sure that he, along with Hashmatullah Shahidi, didn’t lose any more wickets. Bangladesh was the happier side as they needed early breakthroughs to put Afghanistan on the back foot. Afghanistan managed 43 runs in the first powerplay overs for he loss of 2 wickets.
Ibrahim Zadran stands tall in the middle overs
Ibrahim Zadran & Hasmatullah Shahidi had their task cut out. They needed to lay a solid foundation for the rest of the batters to capitalise in the last 15-20 overs. Slowly & steadily, the partnership was building up. In the 13th over, Ibrahim Zadran was given a life by the wicket-keeper who missed a chance of stumping. At that time, Ibrahim Zadran’s score was 27 runs in 41 balls, and Afghanistan’s score was 55-2.
Ibrahim Zadran then took a backseat and didn’t play any risky shots. The left-hand-right-hand combination of Ibrahim Zadran & Hashmatullah Shahidi irritated the Bangladeshi Tigers. At the end of the first drinks break, Afghanistan’s score was 70-2 in 16 overs, and there were some positive signs for the Afghanistan cricket team.
Rishad Hossain & Mehidy Hasan Fox Afghanistan batters
The spin bowling duo of Rishad Hossain & Mehidy Hasan were quite efficient while bowling in tandem. We often see how the concentration of batters gets affected after the drinks break; that happened with Afghanistan as well. Hashmatullah Shahidi & Azmatullah Omarzai were dismissed in the 17th & 18th over respectively by Mehidy Hasan Miraz & Rishad Hossain. Bangladesh was left stranded at 81-4 in 18.4 overs.
Ibrahim Zadran & Mohammad Nabi unknowingly or knowingly started playing too much defensive brand of cricket. Well, we can say that the situation was also very precarious. Mohammad Nabi’s experience came in handy as he was having constant conversations with Ibrahim Zadran. At the halfway stage of Afghanistan’s score was 99-4, and most importantly, they had a set Mohammad Nabi at the crease.
Ibrahim Zadran & Mohammad Nabi built a staggering partnership
Runs were hard to come by, and conditions at Abu Dhabi were too humid. It wasn’t an ideal scenario for batters to come in and swing their bat. Mohammad Nabi had started playing an aggressive brand of cricket. Tanzim Hasan Shakib was introduced in the 30th over, and he got rid of Mohammad Nabi at covers. Mehidy Hasan took a stunning reflex catch. Half of the side was dug out with a score of 118-5 in 29.1 overs.
Mohammad Nabi was dismissed on 22 runs in 30 balls & had hit 1 six. Ibrahim Zadran’s partners kept on changing as Zadran had to play the anchor role. Nangeyalia Kharote had come into the crease. Ibrahim Zadran was unperturbed with batters losing their wickets from the other end. At the second drinks break, Afghanistan’s score was 136-5 in 33 overs. Ibrahim Zadran was cruising to his ton with his score being 72 in 107 balls.
Bangladesh rip Afghanistan’s batting unit
There was a terrible runout as Nangeyalia Kharote was run out. The partnership of 36 runs in 48 balls between Ibrahim Zadran & Nangeyalia Kharote. At that time, Bangladesh’s score was 154-6 in 37.1 overs. Ibrahim Zadran was forced to play an attacking brand of cricket, but he also couldn’t capitalize during the death overs.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz & Rishad Hossain took 5 wickets between themselves. The pitch had an uneven bounce and, sharp turn, which made life very difficult for batters. Mehidy Hasan Miraz took 3 wickets in his 10-over spell. It was quite astonishing to see that Mustafizur Rahman was wicketless. The dropped catch of Ibrahim Zadran might be the match for Afghanistan as Bangladesh were bowled out for 190 in 44,5 overs.
Who’s winning, Bangladesh or Afghanistan
Bangladesh will back themselves to win this match, given there is no pressure of the required run rate. All eyes, though, will be on the skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz, as his batting skills over the last couple of years, and we can say he has become a batting all-rounder for the side. If Bangladesh wants to win the match, then they need to take the game deep and play safe rather than playing ultra-positive cricket.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, has to bowl out Bangladesh to win the match as they have a dangerous deep batting lineup. The spin trio of Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan & Nangeyalia Kharote can’t allow the batters to rotate the strike regularly in a crunch match If Afghanistan wants to win this match, then one of Azmatullah Omarzai or Rashid Khan needs to take a 5 wicket haul. Let’s see who wins this cracker of contest.