Bangladesh v Afghanistan, 2nd ODI, Review: Afghanistan force the series into the decider

Sturdy knocks from skipper Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi saw Afghanistan clinch a wonderful 2 wicket over Bangladesh win in a last over thriller. The visitors have now equalled the three-match series.

This was a perfect way to avenge the narrow loss they suffered in the first ODI at the same venue where the lost the game by 7 runs.

Batting first, Bangladesh suffered a terrible collapse which saw them tumble down from 111/2 to 141/7 and eventually crumble down for just 202 all out. The Afghan bowling attack was highly effective.

All-rounders Mirwais Ashraf and Mohammad Nabi were the wrecker-in-chief. Both claimed two wickets each. Leggie Rashid Khan was rewarded for his disciplined bowling with three wickets and the role of wiping off the lower middle order to make things worse for the Bangladeshis. Naveen ul Haq and leg-spinner Rahmat Shah also picked up one wicket each.

Afghanistan, in response, were rocked by the early dismissals of their openers Nawroz Mangal and Rahmat Shah. Bangladeshi spinner led by Shakib al Hasan then kept things tight and kept the Afghan dugout nervous with timely strikes. However, skipper Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi played the rescue act and took their team closer to the win before Najibullah Zadran’s cameo completed the job for his team.

Things began quite well for the hosts who won the toss and chose to bat first. Openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar were reunited again and the forged 46 for the opening wicket before seamers Ashraf delivered a double blow, removing both Iqbal and Sarkar in back to back overs.

However, the double blow was no reason for the hosts to worry. Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim stabilised the innings from there on and took the Bangladeshi score past the triple figure mark. The pair added patient 61 for the 3rd wicket and were steering the ship in the right direction. But, then began an unforeseen landslide which saw Bangladesh crumble from 111/2 to 141/7.  They lost their last seven wickets for 86 runs in 22.1 overs.

The first to go was Mahmudullah, clean bowled by Naveen ul Haq. His departure was shortly followed by his partner Mushfiqur Rahim who fell victim to leg-spinner Rahmat Shah. Shakib al Hasan played a scratchy knock of 17 off 21 balls before he lost his wicket to Mohammad Nabi.  Sabbir Rahman and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza also couldn’t help much as Bangladesh slumped to 141/7.

20-year-old debutant Mosaddek Hossain, fortunately, held the fort and kept adding runs from one end. Leg-spinner Rashid Khan continued his great job and further reduced to 165/9.

However, Hossain continued his fight back and unleashed a rally of boundaries to take Bangladesh to 208 in 49.2 overs. His run a ball 45* which included four fours and two sixes played a huge role in putting Bangladesh in a competitive position He had support from No. 11 Rubel Hossain in a tenth-wicket partnership of 43 runs before Rubel was run out two balls into the final over.

Afghanistan had an ominous start to the chase. Mortaza’s decision to introduce his most experienced bowler Shakib al Hasan paid off immediately after the veteran claimed the wickets of opener Nawroz Mangal and one down batsman Rahmat Shah within the space of 3 balls in the third over.

Hashmatullah and Mohammad Shahzad took the chase further after the early losses but were not able to stick together for long. Debutant Hossain became the first Bangladeshi bowler to claim a wicket off the first delivery on debut when he broke the third-wicket stand with the wicket of Hashmatullah. Shakib also stayed in action and added the all-important wicket of Shahzad, doing further damage to Afghanistan’s quest.

Things could only become steady when skipper Stanikzai and Nabi came together and added 107 runs for the 5th wicket. Their partnership was the foundation of the chase and enabled the tail-enders to breathe easy later on.

Bangladesh, however, continued to fight and came back in the game.  The 40th and 41st over saw the host deliver two huge blows to the Afghan which could have derailed the chase. Nabi had to depart one run short of a half-century after being trapped LBW by Mashrafe Mortaza. Hossain continued to impress and took another crucial wicket in the form of Stanikzai. The target was still quite far and the visitors were at 174/6 at the time of their skipper’s departure.

Bangladesh still sniffed a chance to clinch a close one like they did a couple of days earlier. But, unluckily, Najibullah Zadran stayed calm and take his to the doorsteps of victory with a cameo of 22 runs before losing his wicket in the nervous last over when the scores were even. Fast bowler Dawlat Zadran scored the winning runs and sealed the win with a boundary to complete the famous win.

Brief Scores:

Bangladesh: 208 in 49.2 overs (Mosaddek Hossain 45; Rashid Khan 3/35)

Afghanistan: 212/8 in 49.4 overs (Asghar Stanikzai 57; Shakib al Hasan 4/47)

Man of the Match:  Mohammad Nabi