Abu Dhabi produced a typically dry and abrasive track with some seam movement for pacers with the new ball before spinners ruled the roost with turn and grip. Temperatures hovered in the mid-30s degrees celsius while humidity soared well past comfortable levels, albeit a light breeze under the floodlights helped both cool Afghan players and provide the an opportuntity to swing the new ball in the second innings.
Toss
Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first, keeping in line with the recent trend at the venue in day/night ODIs.
Lineups
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Allah Ghazanfar, Abdullah Ahmadzai
Bangladesh: Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Jaker Ali, Nurul Hasan (wk), Tanzim Hasan, Tanvir Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed
Match Report
Opting to bat first, Afghanistan saw off the new ball with caution before switching gears in the powerplay as Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashed three consecutive boundaries in the seventh over to get things going. Ibrahim Zadran, meanwhile, was happy rotating strike at the other end with the occassional boundary as the duo stitched together a century stand after a long wait. However, just as they breached the three-figure mark, Tanvir Islam provided Bangladesh their first breakthrough by turning one past Zadran’s outside edge and stranding him three short of a half-century. The spinner also accounted for Sediqullah Atal in the same spell as the Afghans found themselves on 110/2 at the end of 20 overs. Gurbaz went to task again in building a partnership with Rahmat Shah, bringing up a 56-ball fifty in the process albeit the scoring rate dipped significantly with spinners beginning to find their rhythm. Mehidy Hasan Miraz eventually capitalized on the pressure to force Gurbaz to hole out at midwicket, dparting for a 78-ball 62 with half the innings still remaining. With run-scoring becoming difficult, Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi used his wealth of experience to keep finding ways of rotating strike even when boundaries continued to elude the pair. The partnership was on the verge of 50 when Rahmat played a loose shot of Taskin and returned to the dugout for 35, bringing Azmatullah Omarzai in with 15 overs to go. The all-rounder wasted no time in upping the ante, smashing two fours and a maximum in a 17-ball cameo for 21 that inspired his skipper to join in too as he brought up a 67-ball half-century. The duo were primed to take Afghanistan past 270 when Taskin returned to scalp both in quick succession, triggering a brutal lower-order that restricted the hosts to 261/8 at the end of 50.
In response, Bangladesh fumbled early when they lost Tanzid Hasan in Omarzai’s second over. Ahmadzai added a second powerplay scalp with in-form Saif Hassan playing on a length ball as the Tigers ended the field restrictions at 40/2. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy took over the onus thereafter of anchoring the chase, the duo keeping the boundaries coming even as the Afghan spinners tried to execute a chokehold. The partnership grew past 100 before the Atalans had a chance to curb momentum, and threatened to take the game out of their hands when Rashid Khan struck twice in three overs to remove Shanto and Hridoy for 42 and 67 respectively near the halfway mark of the innings. Mohammad Nabi then dispatched Jaker Ali and Nurul Hasan in a six-over spell to send the Tigers into a tailspin, as the Tigers found themselves at 184/5 at the end of 37 overs, the equation reading 78 required off as many deliveries. Miraz tried to lead from the front with some audacious strokes to bring the required rate closer to five, only for Rashid to return to the attack and send his middle-stump pegging with a well-disguised googly. The T20Is skipper capped off his quota with the wicket of Tanzim Hasan, bringing their rivals down to their knees with 40 runs to get and three wickets remaining. Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, and Tanvir Islam combined for a few streaky boundaries to push Bangladesh closer to the target but were not able to preserve their wickets long enough. Ahmadzai eventually delivered the decisive blow in the penultimate over to seal a 12-run win and wrap up the three-match ODI series with a game to scae.
Player of the Match
Rashid Khan was named the player of the match for breaking the back of Bangladesh’s middle-order with four scalps, his effort of 4/37 from 10 overs proving pivotal in securing a tense defence for the Atalans.
Scorecard