Afghanistan produced a dominating performance to beat Bangladesh by 45 runs in the opening match of the series played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Dehradun just a few minutes ago. Bangladesh captain won the toss and fielded first. Good knocks by Shahzad, Ghani, Shenwari, Shafiqullah helped Afghanistan post a competitive total. Chasing this total, Bangladesh lost wickets at regular intervals and could not chase down this target.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and elected to field first. Afghanistan openers Mohammad Shahzad and Usman Ghani started off to a steady start. Both of them scored 44 runs in the first six over’s.
After the power play overs, both of them continued to take singles and hit boundaries. Rubel Hossain got the breakthrough dismissing Usman Ghani for 26. Both of them added 62 runs for the first wicket. After that Bangladesh bowlers picked 4 wickets to reduce Afghanistan to 91 for 4. Samiullah Shenwari scored a quick fire 36 off 18 balls while Shafiqullah also contributed 24 off 8 balls.
Mohammad Shahzad was the top scorer with 40 runs off 37 balls. Afghanistan posted a competitive total of 167 for 8 in 20 overs. For Bangladesh, Abul Hasan and Mahmudullah picked 2 wickets each. Shakib AL Hasan was the most economical bowler with 1 wicket for 19 runs.
Chasing 168, Mujeeb Ur Rahman started off with a bang dismissing Bangladesh experienced opener Tamim Iqbal on the very first ball. Bangladesh captain Shakib AL Hasan hit some lovely shots before Mohammad Nabi dismissed him for 15.
At the end of 6 overs, Bangladesh scored 49 for 2. Liton Das and Mahmudullah added 43 runs for the 3rd wicket before Mohammad Nabi dismissed Liton Das for 30. Rashid Khan picked two wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim and Sabbir Rahman in the same over to put pressure Bangladesh batting line up.
Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 45 runs in the first T20I of Biman Bangladesh Airlines T20I series. #AFGvBAN pic.twitter.com/2gXG16r41h
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) June 3, 2018
Mahmudullah was dismissed for 29 runs which ended Bangladesh hopes of winning the match. Bangladesh was bowled out for 122 in 18.5 overs. For Afghanistan, Rashid Khan was the pick of bowlers picking 3 for 13 while Shapoor Zadran took 3 also.
Afghanistan 167 for 8 in 20 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 40, Shenwari 36, Shafiqullah 24, Abul Hasan 2/40, Mahmudullah 2/1) beat
Bangladesh 122 in 18.5 overs ( Liton Das 30, Mahmudullah 29, Rahim 20, Rashid Khan 3/13, Shapoor Zadran 3/40, Mohammad Nabi 2/21) by 45 runs.
It's that man again! @rashidkhan_19 is the Player of the Match for his brilliant bowling spell, which he kicked off with two wickets in his first two balls! #AFGvBAN pic.twitter.com/90GpZWX947
— ICC (@ICC) June 3, 2018
It was a completely dominating performance by Afghanistan team who outplayed Bangladesh in every department. The second T20I would be played on 5th at the same ground.
