Bangladesh clinched victory by eight runs.
The BAN vs AFG Asia Cup 2025 fixture went down to the wire. With the tournament nearing its business end, this game in Abu Dhabi was a nail-biter. Both Bangladesh and Afghanistan were on two points each before coming into this game. But there was a subtle difference. The Tigers had played two matches already, while this was the second for the Afghans. A loss in this game was going to mean curtains for Bangladesh.
But it did not. Nasum Ahmed turned up to the rescue of the Tigers. His bowling efforts were later coupled by Mustafizur Rahman and Rishad Hossain, who bowled economical spells to see their team through. Tanzid Hasan was the only batter who got past the fifty-run mark in the game, and he will draw a lot of inspiration from the knock. Bangladesh ended up winning the fixture by a margin of eight runs.
With this result, Bangladesh made it to four points on the points table. But the only downside would be that they have played all three games in the group stage. On the other hand, Afghanistan still have a game to play. They will play against Sri Lanka, which will be a must-win encounter for them. If they fail to adhere to the NRR demands, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will go through to the Super Fours.
The Bangladesh Tigers started well and did not lose a wicket in the power play. To add to that, they were 59/0 after six overs. But the Afghanistan spinners pulled the strings back to put the brakes on the run-flow. Afghanistan could afford to spend two overs of Ghazanfar in the powerplay because they had the luxury of three more.
Skipper Rashid Khan came into the attack soon and did what he does best. The Gujarat Titans spinner picked up a wicket in his first over. He castled the stumps of Saif Hassan with a googly. Hassan, who went for a slog sweep, could not pick the wrong’un. As a result, he had to walk back to the pavilion and was also on the receiving end of Rashid’s stare.
To add to that, Noor Ahmad joined the party. He scalped the important wickets of skipper Litton Das and opener Tanzid Hasan to rattle the Tigers. One of the most crucial strengths for the Afghans is their spin quartet. Despite losing momentum in the beginning, the spinners managed to pull the team back to exert pressure on the Bangladesh batters. As a result, Bangladesh could not add even 100 runs to their powerplay tally of 59 and ended up with a total of 154/5 in their 20 overs.
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In the shortest format, 154 would not be regarded as a good total. But on this wicket, it was! Rather, the Bangladesh bowlers proved it to be. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed opened the bowling and wreaked havoc on the Afghan batters. He sent Sediqullah Atal back on the first delivery of the innings. The 30-year-old bowled his quota of four overs and ended up with two wickets. And that was not all. He conceded a mere 11 runs in the 24 deliveries he bowled.
Rishad Hossain, the leg-spinner, also bowled quite well. His spell of four overs conceded just 18 runs and also picked up two wickets. This helped limit the Afghans to a sub-par total. One of the things which makes Rishad really potent is his ability to gain drift on the delivery. As a result, it makes proceedings difficult for the batter, who has to judge the trajectory of the ball mid-air.
To add to that, Mustafizur Rahman joined forces to rescue Bangladesh when the game was getting to the end phase. The Afghans needed 27 off the last two overs, but Mustafizur pulled the game back wonderfully, with two wickets on subsequent deliveries in the 19th over. As a result, Bangladesh clinched victory and will have another chance at the Super Fours.
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