Gujarat Titans’ Rashid Khan starred in the first T20 and Punjab Kings’ Azmatullah Omarzai impressed in the second, but their efforts went in vain as Afghanistan lost both matches and the T20I series against Bangladesh, with one game still left to play.
Rashid Khan produced a brilliant spell in the first T20I, taking 4 wickets for just 18 runs in his four overs, but his effort wasn’t enough as Afghanistan went down to Bangladesh.
Batting first, Afghanistan posted 151/9 in 20 overs, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz scoring 40 and Mohammad Nabi adding 38 runs. Bangladesh started strong with a 109-run opening stand, but Rashid Khan pulled things back by taking the wickets of Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Jaker Ali, and Shamim Hossain. Noor Ahmad also chipped in with a wicket as Bangladesh suddenly slipped to 118/6.
Afghanistan seemed to have the upper hand, but Nurul Hasan and Rishad Hossain kept their calm to chase down the target with eight balls to spare and four wickets in hand. Despite Rashid’s heroics, Afghanistan ended on the losing side.
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In the second T20I, Azmatullah Omarzai bowled brilliantly, but Afghanistan still fell short and lost to Bangladesh.
Afghanistan struggled with the bat and managed only 147/5 in 20 overs, with Ibrahim Zadran scoring 38 and Rahmanullah Gurbaz adding 30 runs.
In the second innings, it was Azmatullah Omarzai who kept Afghanistan in the contest. He bowled really well and took important wickets, dismissing Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Mohammad Saifuddin, and Rishad Hossain. Because of his bowling, Bangladesh found themselves in a tough position at 129 for 8, still needing 19 more runs from 13 balls to win.
Nurul Hasan and Shoriful Islam sealed Bangladesh’s win with two wickets left. Azmatullah Omarzai finished with an impressive four wickets for 23 runs in 3.1 overs.
Even though Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai produced brilliant bowling performances in the first two T20Is, Bangladesh found a way to win both matches, sealing the series 2-0. The third and final game will be played on October 5 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
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