A nail-biting contest between Bangladesh and Afghanistan went right down to the wire, with Bangladesh grabbing victory by just three runs after an action packed final over.
Having elected to bat first, Bangladesh’s Liton Das (41) and Mushfiqur Rahim (33) added 63 for the third wicket, but when Rahim departed Bangladesh were struggling on 87-5. Imrul Kayes (72 not out off 89 balls, six fours) and Mahmudullah (74 off 81 balls, three fours, two sixes) added 128 for the sixth wicket to lift Bangladesh to 215-6 in the 47th over.
Bangladesh ended on 249-7 off their 50 overs, with Aftab Alam picking up three wickets for 54 runs and Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowling tightly to register figures of 10-0-35-1 (econ 3.50).
Afghanistan got off to a slow start, reaching 89-3 in the 25th over when they lost opener Mohammad Shahzad for 53 off 81 balls (eight fours). Hashmatullah Shahidi shared a 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket with captain Asghar Afghan (39 off 47 balls), before Afghan departed in the 40th over.
Mohammad Nabi (38 off 28 balls, two fours, two sixes) and Samiullah Shenwari added 46 for the sixth wicket to take Afghanistan within striking distance of the win.
Rashid Khan fell caught and bowled to Mustafizur Rahman for five off the second ball of the final over, and the last four balls yielded just two leg byes as Bangladesh squeaked home after an epic battle.
Mashrafe Mortaza picked up 2-62 and Mustafizur Rahman 2-44, while Nazmul Islam kept things tight, his eight overs going to 3.62 runs apiece.
Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images)
