Bangladesh had a strong start after winning the toss, with openers Soumya Sarkar and Tanzid Hasan guiding the score to 49/0 in eight overs in Sharjah. However, their partnership was broken when Azmatullah Omarzai dismissed Sarkar at the cusp of the first powerplay. The setback further deepened with Mohammad Nabi outsmarting Tanzid Hasan in the next over. Quickly, it turned into a collapse with Zakir Hasan’s runout and Towhid Hridoy’s outside edge leaving Bangladesh at a precarious 73/4 in 15 overs. With Mahmudullah and Miraz at the crease, the Afghan bowlers, led by their spinners, continued to check runs but failed to capitalise on the applied pressure. The Bangladeshi pair steadied the innings with a cautious approach. Miraz played almost at half the run-a-ball rate while Mahmadullah attacked on looseners. From 130/4 in 30 overs, the hosts reached 205/4 by the 45th over with the pair still breathing. Although Miraz was outdone for 66 in the next over, Mahmadullah switched gears at the cusp of the innings to propel the score to 244 despite missing out on a deserving century by a mere two runs.
In response, Afghanistan got off to a brisk start by Sediqullah Atal and Rahmanullah Gurbaz before Nahid Rana rushed the former with sheer pace and broke the 41-run stand. Half-centurion from the last ODI, Rahmat Shah failed to make his mark with Mustafizur removing him followed by the wicket of Hashmatullah Omarzai. Amidst the wickets, Gurbaz looked firm with the bat and scored in boundaries and sixes more often with Azmatullah Omarzai playing second fiddle until the 30th over with the score 138/3. Although there was a scarcity of boundaries in the middle, Gurbaz notched up his century in the 38th over before departing off Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s bowling in the next. Gulbadin Naib followed suit in quick time but Omarzai ensured to reach the fifty-run mark and keep the Atalans in the hunt. Soon, they reached the 200-run mark in the 44th over and accelerated in the chase. With 40 needed off the last 54 balls, the pair orchestrated 24 runs in the next three overs, scoring 229/5. Subsequently, Nabi took on Mustafizur for a couple of fours with Omarzai smacking a six in the next over set up the Atalans series 2-1 victory.
That was so close!
