||Desk Report||

Bangladesh are facing Afghanistan for the second time in the ongoing Asia Cup. Unlike the previous face-off, this clash will decide which team between the two will stay alive in the tournament, as both of them have been defeated in their respective first Super Four clashes.

Winning the toss, Bangladesh opted to bat first at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Two crucial innings of 70-odd runs from each of Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah Riyad helped the Tigers put 249 runs despite losing five wickets before crossing the 100-run mark following a string of blunder from the batters.

In reply, Afghanistan, too, followed Bangladesh’s footsteps and lost two wickets in the batting powerplay. Both Ihsanullah Janat (8) and Rehmatullah Shah (1) fell cheaply, giving Bangladesh an early breakthrough.

Mohmmad Shahzad and Hasmatullah Shahidi then restored the innings with a 63-run stand, with the former picking up a half-century. Just when the regular spinners could do nothing more than just restricting the flow of runs, Mahmudullah came into the attack and removed Shahzad to help the Tigers return to the fray.

Shahidi is still out there on 26. He would now look to take the pressure off his side by stitching another good partnership with skipper Asghar Afghan.

 

Score

BAN - 249/7 (50 Overs)

AFG –  91/3 (26 Overs)