What a dramatic match Bangladesh have won! The home team beat Afghanistan in the first T20 of the three-match series at Sylhet International Stadium. But the game saw fascinating drama till the end. Chasing 154 runs, Bangladesh had to play until the last over. The home team made the game very difficult as they lost three wickets in the very last over.
Despite Karim Janat’s brilliant hat trick in the last over, Afghanistan failed to win the game. It was Bangladesh who earned the thrilling victory in the end and have taken the lead in the series.
Toss: Shakib Al Hasan, the T20 captain of Bangladesh, won the toss and decided to bowl first. As the weather was rainy and the pitch was wet, Shakib tried to get the advantage from the wicket.
Afghanistan’s Top Order Collapsed
As Bangladesh chose to bowl first, the Afghans started their batting innings with Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. They had a slow start against Bangladesh, having scored only two runs in the first over. But soon, they tried to be aggressive. Zazai hit a boundary, but the Bangladeshi bowlers were brilliant enough and didn’t let Zazai smash boundaries. In the 2.2 over, Nasum Ahmed picked up Hazratullah Zazai.
After that, Bangladeshi pacers showed their aggression against the visitors. Two young pacers, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam, picked up the following two batters of Afghanistan. Taskin picked up Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored a quick 16 off 12, while Shoriful Islam got the wicket of Ibrahim Zadran.
Captain Shakib also joined with the pacers to get wickets. Karim Janat was struck in the wicket by him. As a result, Afghanistan became four men down in 52 runs.
Nabi and Omarzai changed the scenario
It seemed Afghanistan could have lost all their wickets before 100 runs. But Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai played excellent innings to handle the disaster. Mohammad Nabi scored the highest 54 runs from 40 balls, hitting six fours and a six. On the other hand, Azmatullah Omarzai had a destructive innings today at Sylhet Stadium. With four sixes, Omarzai added a very effective 33 runs only from 18 balls. Relying on their runs, Afghanistan scored a formidable 154 runs in 20 overs.
Bangladesh lost early wickets but responded well
Chasing the target, Bangladesh lost their first wicket in the very first over. Rony Talukdar departed the crease in the 5th ball of the innings, having scored only four runs.
Liton Das and Nazmul Hossain Shanto also struggled to pick runs. Besides the Afghan bowlers maintained very good line and length today. They got some quick wickets to put Bangladesh under tremendous pressure.
However, Tawhid Hridoy made a match-winning partnership with Shamim Hossain to earn the victory in the 1st match. Together they picked up 73 runs to ease the pressure.
However, Shamim lost his wicket in the 17.2 over after scoring 33 off 25. But Tawhid Hridoy remained very calm between the wickets. He was unbeaten in 47 runs from 32 balls.
Last over drama
Bangladesh needed only six runs in the last over. Mehedi Hasan was the striker and hit a boundary in the first ball. Therefore, the home team needed only two runs. But the drama was yet to come. Karim Janat picked up three wickets in his following three balls to complete his hat trick and put Bangladesh under pressure. As it stood, Bangladesh needed two from two balls. It seemed Bangladesh could bottle the game. But Shoriful Islam was very confident and hit a four to win the match with one ball left.
As a result, Bangladesh won the first T20 of the series against Afghanistan. The second T20 will take place tomorrow.
