SYLHET: Afghanis-tan’s Karim Janat grabbed a hat-trick in the final over but Bangladesh held their nerve to sneak a two-wicket win with just a ball to spare in the first T20 International here at the Sylhet International Stadium on Friday.
The hosts seemed to be cruising towards victory in the first encounter of the two-match series after Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain put on 73 runs for the fifth wicket in reply to Afghanistan’s 154-7.
Then a drama erupted.
Rashid Khan removed Sha-mim for 33 to break the partnership, but Bangladesh were still favourites needing only six runs from the final over.
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Instead Janat dismissed Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed and Nasum Ahmed with the second, third and fourth balls of the over, leaving the hosts still two runs away.
Shoriful Islam came in at number 10 to strike a powerful shot that raced to boundary, earning Bangladesh a dramatic win.
Hridoy remained unbeaten on 47 at the non-striker’s end as Janat finished with 3-15.
“We had the belief, all our tail-enders can bat. It was Shoriful’s turn today but Miraz could have finished it,” said Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan.
Rashid, the Afghanistan captain, lamented his side’s inability to defend their total.
“With the bowling unit we have, that total was enough but in T20 [cricket] one innings can take away the game from you,” he said.
The visitors struggled at the start of their innings, losing their first four wickets for 52 runs after Shakib won the toss and elected to bowl.
But Mohammad Nabi scored an unbeaten 54 from 40 balls to give Afghanistan a competitive score.
He hit the first ball he faced for four to signal his intent and kept the scoreboard ticking over, with the occasional boundary.
Najibullah Zadran provided him brief support with a run-a-ball 23 before falling to Mehidy, while Azmatullah Omarzai hit four sixes to score 33 off 18 deliveries, ensuring Afghanistan never lost their way completely.
Shakib was the hosts’ most successful bowler with 2-27.
Similarly Bangladesh were reduced to 64-4 as Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Omarzai and Fareed Ahmed each claimed a wicket before Hridoy and Shamim mounted the comeback.
The second match of the series will be held at the same ground on Sunday.
SCOREBOARD
AFGHANISTAN:
Hazratullah Zazai c Hridoy b Nasum 8
Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Mehidy b Taskin 16
Ibrahim Zadran c Liton b Shoriful 8
Karim Janat c Najmul b Shakib 3
Mohammad Nabi not out 54
Najibullah Zadran c Liton b Mehidy 23
Azmatullah c Taskin b Shakib 33
Rashid Khan c Najmul b Mustafizur 3
Mujeeb Ur Rahman not out 0
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-2, W-2) 6
TOTAL (for seven wickets, 20 overs)154
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-16 (Zazai), 2-26 (Gurbaz), 3-32 (Ibrahim), 4-52 (Janat), 5-87 (Najibullah), 6-143 (Azmatullah), 7-152 (Rashid)
DID NOT BAT: Farid Ahmed, FazalHaq Farooqi
BOWLING: Nasum 3-0-20-1, Taskin 4-0-29-1, Shoriful 3-0-30-1 (1w), Shakib 4-0-27-2, Mustafizur 4-0-31-1 (1w), Mehidy 2-0-13-1
BANGLADESH:
Liton Das c Rashid b Azmatullah 18
Rony Talukdar b Farooqi 4
Najmul Hossain b Mujeeb 14
Shakib Al Hasan c Janat b Farid 19
Towhid Hridoy not out 47
Shamim Hossain c Gurbaz b Rashid 33
Mehidy Hasan c Nabi b Janat 8
Taskin Ahmed c Gurbaz b Janat 0
Nasum Ahmed c Farid b Janat 0
Shoriful Islam not out 4
EXTRAS (LB-1, W-9)10
TOTAL (for eight wickets, 19.5 overs) 157
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-5 (Talukdar), 2-30 (Najmul), 3-39 (Liton), 4-64 (Shakib), 5-137 (Shamim), 6-153 (Mehidy), 7-153 (Taskin), 8-153 (Nasum)
DID NOT BAT: Mustafizur Rahman
BOWLING: Farooqi 4-0-36-1 (1w), Mujeeb 4-0-22-1 (1w), Azmatullah 3-0-34-1 (2w), Rashid 4-0-24-1, Farid 2-0-17-1, Nabi 1-0-8-0, Janat 1.5-0-15-3 (1w)
RESULT: Bangladesh won by two wickets.
Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2023