Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Asia Cup 2018

Afghanistan brushed aside Bangladesh in the last group match of the Asia Cup 2018 with a massive 136-run win at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Today, the teams will play against Pakistan and India respectively as we kick-off the Super Four round.

Choosing to bat first, Afghanistan was jolted initially with two early wickets of Ihsanullah Janat and Rahmat Shah. Opener Mohammad Shahzad then controlled the innings alongside Hasmatullah Shahidi by stitching 51 runs partnership. Bangladesh stormed back in the game with a few quick wickets, but they were blunted by a late assault from Gulbadin Naib and the birthday boy Rashid Khan.

Chasing 255 was always going to be a daunting task for the Bangladeshi batsman, they made it tougher for themselves by opting for an ultra-defensive approach. All the Afghan bowlers maintained pressure and curbed boundaries to stop the run-flow. Bangladesh was eventually shot out for only 119.

Here is how the individuals from both the sides fared.

Bangladesh

Liton Das - 3/10

Playing in place of Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das failed to score runs at the top. He did a decent job while keeping wickets.

Nazmul Hossain - 2/10

The opener failed to break away from the pressure mounted by the Afghanistan bowlers. Nazmul was the first wicket to fall as he stepped out against Mujeeb Ur Rehman.

Shakib Al Hasan - 9/10

The world-class all-rounder proved his quality as he was both the highest wicket-taker (4/42) and the highest run-scorer (32 runs) for Bangladesh yesterday.

Mominul Haque - 2/10

Making his return to the Bangladeshi side, Mominul failed to make the most of the opportunity and was out for only 9 runs.

Mohammad Mithun - 1/10

Mithun misjudged the line of the ball and dragged it back on his stumps with only two runs to his name.

Mahmudullah - 5/10

It was the pair of Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah that kept the Bangladeshi hopes alive in the chase. Mahmudullah was positive and he struck the first two boundaries of the chase in his 27 run knock.

Mosaddek Hossain - 4/10

Mosaddek was the last man standing while all his teammates perished from the other end. He bowled four overs without conceding too many runs as well.

Mehidy Hasan - 3/10

Mehidy bowled eight overs, conceding only 21 runs but could not pick a wicket. With the bat, he was disappointing.

Mashrafe Mortaza - 1/10

The Bangladeshi captain had a nightmarish outing. He was clobbered to all places as Rashid Khan and Gulbadin Naib dominated him. Mortaza was out for zero when he came out to bat.

Abu Hider - 7/10

The debutant left-arm bowler was the shining light for Bangladesh in this match. His two early strikes pushed Afghanistan onto the backfoot and provided Bangladesh the advantage.

Rubel Hossain - 4/10

Rubel snared the key wicket of Hashmatullah Shahidi thus igniting Bangladeshi hopes, but did nothing of note apart from that.

Afghanistan

Mohammad Shahzad - 8/10

The opener provided stability to Afghan innings after two early blows. He played an unnecessary shot to get out after scoring 37. His wicket-keeping was good as well.

Ihsanullah Janat - 3/10

Janat began with two promising boundaries but attempted one shot too many, and lost his wicket early.

Rahmat Shah - 5/10

Afghanistan’s most dependable batsman failed to cover the round the wicket angle of Abu Hider and was bowled with 10 runs on his name. Shah did pick up a wicket in his brief bowling spell of two overs.

Hasmatullah Shahidi - 9/10

The middle-order batsman raised a crucial partnership with Shahzad and stabilized the innings. Shahidi ended as the top-scorer from the match with his knock of 58 runs.

Asghar Afghan - 2/10

Afghanistan’s captain and senior batsman was clean bowled by Shakib Al Hasan for only 8 runs as he danced down the track.

Samiullah Shenwari - 3/10

The all-rounder consumed too many deliveries while batting and ended up getting out while playing a poor shot. He was not effective with the ball as well.

Mohammad Nabi - 8/10

Afghanistan’s star all-rounder could not contribute much with the bat, but he was extremely effective with the ball as he did not allow the Bangladeshi batsmen to get away. Nabi conceded only 24 runs in 10 overs with one wicket.

Gulbadin Naib - 9.5/10

Naib scored a scintillating 42 from 38 balls to help Afghanistan get to a very good score. He subsequently captured two crucial wickets as well to cement Afghanistan’s domination in the game.

Rashid Khan - 10/10

On his 20th birthday, the Afghan superstar came out swinging hard with the bat as he struck a splendid 57 not out from just 32 balls, including 19 runs in the last over. As always, Rashid was brilliant with the ball and took 2/13 in his nine overs. He effected a run-out as well to complete a memorable day.

Mujeeb Ur Rehman - 8.5/10

Mujeeb struck early as he bowled in the powerplay overs. Before Rashid’s entry, Mujeeb kept the pressure on with his disciplined bowling. He ended with two wickets for 22 runs in his eight overs.

Aftab Alam - 7/10

With spinners carrying out most of the bidding, Alam was happy with his five-over spell where he took one wicket while conceding only 11 runs.