RASHID HEROICS SINK BANGLADESH
And the Afghans have dismembered yet another peer nation. The clinical Afghans humiliated Bangladesh by winning the final group match of the Asia Cup 2018 by 136 runs at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
The high point of Afghanistan cricket is that everyone shoulders responsibility equally. So on a day when after choosing to bat first, the top batsmen failed in their act, lowerorder player Rashid Khan smacked a 32-ball 57 and shared a 95-run eighth-wicket partnership with Gulbadin Naib (42 off 38 balls) to prop up an imposing 255-run total.
Later Rashid took two wickets to also become the joint leading wickettaker along with Mohammad Nabi for Afghanistan and also ran a player out. The significant victory comes ahead of the opening encounters of the Super Four. On Friday, Afghanistan take on Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and Bangladesh will face India in Dubai. And as a trial run, both teams checked their arsenal in the UAE Capital on Thursday.
Bangladesh made three changes to the line-up and Afghanistan one. It was an intriguing match for the legions of cricket fans, especially Bangladeshis who had turned up in thousands braving the scorching sun.
Bangladesh debutant left-arm pacer Abu Hider made the most of the grand settings with a fiery open- ing spell bagging two wickets of Ihsanullah Janat and Rahmat Shah. Bangladesh choked Afghanistan further with a brutally efficient spell by spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz (8 overs 21 runs). Batsmen Moham- mad Shahzad and Hashmatullah Shahidi were steady but failed to rotate the strike or run a second one when the opportunity existed.
By the 20th over, Shakib Al Hasan was introduced into the attack. He got Shahzad and ended a 51-run partnership.
Asghar Afghan, new batsman, and Shahidi took Afghanistan to 100 by the end of 25 overs. Shakib soon chipped away Asghar and the experienced Samiullah Shenwari pushed Afghanistan to 139. Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza rotated his bowlers and in 38th over, Rubel Hossain removed the dangerous Shahidi (58 runs off 92 balls). Shakib picked another wicket as he got Nabi leg before and with nine overs to go, Afghanistan were 161 runs for loss of seven wickets.
It seemed the end was near but Gulbadin Naib showed intent and struck three consecutive fours in 42nd over by Hider. Rashid joined the party by smacking a maximum and a four off Rubel. Rashid and Gulbadin took Afghanistan past 200-mark in 46 overs. The duo kept the momentum and punished bowlers taking 52 runs in the final four overs.
In the last over, Rashid took four boundaries off Mortaza to reach his fifty and take Afghanistan to 255.
In reply, Bangladesh never got going. Openers Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Liton Das fell within five overs. Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Gulbadin Naib kept Bangladesh on a tight leash and didn’t concede a boundary. Naib got back-to-back wickets of Mominul Haque and Mohammad Mithun. By the 14th over, Bangladesh were 43 for loss of four. However, Shakib held fort at one end and with Mahmudullah Riyadh stitched a 36-run partnership. But birthday boy Rashid trapped Shakib leg before and bowled Mahmudullah to push Bangladesh to 90 for six by 30th over.