AFG vs BAN, 1st T20I, Review: Afghanistan take a lead of 1-0 in the series with an all-round effort

Afghanistan cricket team started off the 3-match T20I series against Bangladesh with a great win. This is a historic game in Afghanistan cricket as this was the first ever game that they were playing at their new adopted home ground in Dehradun, India. The Afghans couldn’t have asked for anything better than a win to start this new journey.

The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium with a capacity of 25,000 hosted the Bangla Tigers for the first T20I. Being a Sunday, the stadium was packed with cricket fans cheering both the teams. The crowd were continuously in the game which should be a great sight for the Afghans going forward. It is really commendable that the crowd has turned up in huge numbers despite it not being an India match.

Bangladesh went into this game having lost the practice game to Afghanistan A team. In this game too, they never managed to get the right momentum going. Afghanistan were clinical in every department of the game on the field barring one dropped catch. First, the batsmen impressed all with their finishing abilities. Then, they were relentless with the ball posing several questions to the Bangla players. An all-round effort from all the players in the team ensured that they win the game by 45 runs.

A final flurry helps Afghanistan make a merry

Afghanistan team was put into bat first by Shakib Al Hasan who won the toss. Their first runs came off Mohammad Shahzad’s bat when he whipped his willow like a mini-helicopter to hit an MS Dhoniesque four. The openers went on to build a partnership of 62 runs for the first wicket in 51 balls.

The Afghans had wickets in hand and were looking good for a big one. However, it was the part-timer Mahmudullah who applied breaks on the scoring. He picked two wickets in the only over he has bowled to derail their momentum. Although skipper Asghar Stanikzai tried to steady the innings, runs didn’t come at a desired pace.

It was all going well for Bangladesh until the 15th over of the game. Then came the assault from the Afghan batsmen in the last five overs. They milked 70 in the last 30 balls to help take the team to a big total. Samiullah Shenwari scored 36 off 18 while Shafiqullah Shafaq scored 24 off just 8. Rashid Khan hit a six on the last ball of the innings to take the total to 167 in the first innings.

Afghan spinners apply the breaks

Chasing 168 on a slow pitch was never going to be easy for Bangladesh. Furthermore, adding to their problems, the young sensation Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked up the wicket of Tamim Iqbal on the first ball of the innings. Skipper Shakib, who was looking good initially threw his wicket away against Mohammad Nabi trying to accelerate just after he hit a boundary on the previous ball.

Although Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim tried to steady the innings, they weren’t really successful in their efforts. Liton was dismissed by Nabi in the 8th over of the game breaking the impressive partnership. Bangladesh never really recovered thereon. Rashid Khan, who was held up till the 10th over bowled the 11th and picked two crucial wickets in his first two balls.

Mushfiqur, who was supposed to play a crucial role in the chase threw his wicket away trying to play an ambitious reverse-sweep against Rashid. Bangladesh didn’t have too many wickets to play with since then and the required run rate was always creeping up.

The batsmen at the end couldn’t sustain themselves for long. Wickets kept tumbling and Bangladesh will have to address several questions before the next game. The highlight of the bowling was the delivery Shapoor Zadran bowled which cannoned into the woodwork to break the leg stump into two. The innings ended when Rashid picked a brilliant catch to wrap things up.

Brief Scores

Afghanistan: 167/8 in 20 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 40, Samiullah Shenwari 36, Abul Hasan 2/40)

Bangladesh: 122/10 in 19 overs (Liton Das 30, Mushfiqur Rahim 20, Rashid Khan 3/13)

Afghanistan won the match by 45 runs.