Watch cricket video highlights of Bangladesh and Afghanistan tour of UAE 2024. Second ODI between Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Venue of the match will be Sharjah.
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After Bangladesh lost 8 for 23 in the first ODI, Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was part of the calamitous collapse, said that his wicket made the difference. Three days later, Shanto top-scored for Bangladesh with 76 off 119 balls, helping them reach 252 for 7. Jaker Ali, a debutant, also excelled, striking an unbeaten 37 off 27 balls and adding 46 for the seventh wicket with Nasum Ahmed, who scored 25 off 24. Earlier, Afghanistan’s quartet of spinners (Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Nangeyalia Kharote, and AM Ghazanfar) played a significant role in reducing Bangladesh’s score.
They bowled 38 of the 50 overs, surrendering only 144 runs and scooping up seven wickets. Omarzai may have removed Jaker in the last over of the innings if Hashmatullah Shahidi had not dropped him. Shahidi used Ghazanfar as early as the second over of the innings, which went for five runs. Two of Fazalhaq Farooqi’s first three overs went for 18. Tanzid Hasan, who had already hit three boundaries off Farooqi, began the fourth over by slogging Ghazanfar for six over mid-on following a full toss.
The next ball, Ghazanfar got one to dip on off stump on a very full length, and Tanzid replicated the hit, finding Nabi at mid-on. Despite the early wicket, Shanto and Soumya Sarkar surged, leading Bangladesh to 57 in nine overs. Shanto was on a run-a-ball 20 in the twelfth over before slowing down. Soumya clipped and pulled Omarzai for four and six on the 14th over. Bangladesh had scored 82 before the conclusion of that over, but only added 84 in the following 23 overs, although losing just two wickets.
During that session, all four spinners bowled and surrendered only two fours and one six. However, Afghanistan was lucky to take the first of two wickets within those span. Soumya was awarded lbw at 35, and Rashid celebrated before appealing. Soumya spoke with his partner Shanto, who encouraged him not to analyze the ball and instead to watch replays to check that it was pitched outside leg. A 71-run second-wicket stand was broken, and the replacement batsman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, struggled to get going.
Rashid, however, broke the 53-run stand by cleaning up Mehidy with a googly the following over. With 12 overs remaining, Bangladesh had 174 on the board, with Shanto sluggish but steady and Towhid Hridoy opening confidently with 11 off 15 balls. However, Kharote struck three times in the following three overs to dash Bangladesh’s chances of a high total, as Hridoy, Shanto, and Mahmudullah all fell in short succession. However, Jaker and Nasum helped Bangladesh fight back late to produce a competitive score.
Nasum began the fun with a slog sweep for six over deep square leg off Kharote, and the final six overs yielded 60 runs. When Afghanistan changed pace in the 47th over, Jaker smashed Farooqi for back-to-back sixes, one of which landed over the roof at deep midwicket. Nasum concluded the over with a boundary over Farooqi’s head, and Bangladesh snatched 18. Nasum scored 25 at less than a run per ball before Jaker pushed Bangladesh beyond 250 and had a debut to remember. First, Afghanistan’s spin quartet finished with a score of 38-0-144-7.
Bangladesh’s trio responded with 21.3-2-72-5. However, while Afghanistan’s quicks bowled 12 overs for 108 runs without a single wicket, Bangladesh’s fast bowlers were much tighter, taking four wickets in 22 overs for 111 runs. That proved to be the difference in the end, as Afghanistan went 68 short of their target of 253, and Bangladesh leveled the three-match series with one game remaining. Bangladesh’s victory was secured by skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 76, which appeared too sluggish when he was bowled in the 41st over of the first innings.
However, the Afghanistan batsmen’ reluctance to get going only served to highlight the difficulty of hitting on a sluggish and worn Sharjah surface. Six of Afghanistan’s top eight scored at least 14, with only one going on to reach a half-century. Rahmat Shah’s 76-ball 52 remains the highest. The Bangladesh quicks began with tight lines and lengths in defense of 252 with the new ball swinging, but their first two breakthroughs came thanks to some magnificent catches.
Soumya Sarkar anticipated a ball flying onto him at wide slip, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz was caught off Taskin Ahmed, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz jumped and snatched one to send Sediqullah Atal back off Nasum Ahmed’s maiden delivery. Atal was dismissed for 39, breaking a 52-run second-wicket stand with Rahmat, but his removal triggered a period in which Nasum and Mahmudullah held Afghanistan to only 19 runs over the following seven overs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz took over as captain when Shanto left the field with a hand injury, and he returned to bowl in the 24th over.
Afghanistan’s necessary rate had risen to six runs per over one over after the midway point, and the collapse began in the 29th. Mustafizur Rahman caught Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi at fine leg for 17 from 40 balls, while Nasum bowled Azmatullah Omarzai for his second duck of the series with a brilliant delivery that twisted away to smash off stump. Three balls later, Rahmat paid the price for a miscommunication with Gulbadin Naib, who pushed one to cover and called.
With Naib eyeing the outfield, Rahmat was halfway down the pitch, and they both ended up rushing towards Jaker Ali, the debuting wicketkeeper. Jaker, replacing the injured Mushfiqur Rahim, sent the ball to Nasum at the opposite end, and Rahmat was way short. Afghanistan lost three wickets in six deliveries, and despite Naib’s entertaining 26 and 44 for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi, his dismissal left the remainder with too much to do. They lost their last five wickets for 21 runs and were dismissed for 184 in 43.4 overs.
That batting effort enhanced Shanto’s half-century and Jaker’s death-overs batting appearance. Bangladesh had lost Tanzid Hasan early in the afternoon, but Shanto and Soumya moved quickly. Despite Shanto’s slowness after the powerplay, Bangladesh scored 82 in 14 overs. Bangladesh, on the other hand, needed another 23 overs to score another 82 runs, albeit losing only two wickets in the process. During that period, all four of Afghanistan’s spinners (Rashid, Nabi, Nangeyalia Kharote, and AM Ghazanfar) bowled and gave only two fours and one six.
Rashid ruined Shanto and Soumya’s 71-run second-wicket stand by trapping the latter lbw. Soumya, on 35, did not review after a consultation, and the replays later revealed that the ball had been thrown outside the line. Shanto required 75 balls to get his half-century, which he achieved halfway through the 28th over. Both Mehidy and Shanto struggled to dismiss the Afghanistan spinners, having to rely on their dashing between the wickets among a slew of dots.
Shanto was ruled out lbw for 55 off Ghazanfar in the 32nd over, but he appealed the judgment and reversed it. Rashid, however, broke the 53-run stand by cleaning up Mehidy with a googly the following over. With 12 overs remaining and Bangladesh on 174, they were on track for a good finish, but Shanto was sluggish, and Kharote struck three times in the following three overs to sink their chances. Towhid Hridoy, Shanto, and Mahmudullah all left in rapid succession. However, Jaker and Nasum insured that Bangladesh would get a competitive score.
Nasum began the fun with a slog sweep for six from Kharote in the last six overs, which were taken for 60 runs. When Afghanistan changed pace in the 47th over, Jaker blasted Fazalhaq Farooqi for back-to-back sixes, one falling over the roof beyond deep midwicket. Nasum scored 25 runs at slightly less than a run per ball, and Jaker finished it off. The debutant assured that Bangladesh surpassed 250.
