Dhaka: 2 wickets for 120 runs. From there, they were all out for 143 runs. What can you say about that? Falling off a steep mountain! That's exactly what happened in Bangladesh's innings. And that was the death of dreams. That was a big loss. In response to Afghanistan's 235 runs, Bangladesh was bundled out for just 143 runs. The match was lost by 92 runs.
With this win in Sharjah, Afghanistan took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second match of the series is on November 9, at the same ground.
In response to Afghanistan's 235 runs, Bangladesh did not start well. Opener Tanjid Hasan failed. He was the first victim of off-spinner Mohammad Ghazanfar. That Ghazanfar later destroyed the rest of Bangladesh's innings. Bangladesh's long batting line-up was cut short by the spin of Rashid Khan and Ghazanfar. Bangladesh could not give any answer to Afghanistan's spin in this match.
After losing opener Tanjid Hasan, Captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto and other opener Soumyo Sarkar pulled the team ahead in the second wicket partnership. Soumya Sarkar suffered from his old 'illness'. He was set out on the wicket. Soumya scored 33 runs in 45 balls. The way Mehedi Hasan Miraj was batting after getting promoted in the batting order, Afghanistan's 235 runs did not seem very far away. Captain Shanto's bat also showed signs of big runs. This pair showed the solution. The problem started here. As soon as this pair broke for 120 runs, the rest of Bangladesh's innings seemed to end in a flash!
From 120 for 2 wickets, Bangladesh suddenly went all out for 143 runs. The negative result is that Bangladesh added only 23 runs after losing the last 8 wickets. And the main architects of this destruction were young off-spinner Ghazanfar and experienced Rashid Khan. Ghazanfar bowled the best bowling of his career in this match. This youngster was the man of the match with 6 wickets for 26 runs in 6.3 overs. At the other end, Rashid Khan was also unplayable by then. He took 2 wickets for 28 runs in 8 overs.
After Nazmul Hossain Shanto returned to Mohammad Nabi for 47 runs off 68 balls, the entire Bangladesh innings seemed to end in the blink of an eye. The way Shanto got out while playing a harmless sweep of Nabi was easily called suicide.
Following the captain's path, it seemed that the rest of the team allowed themselves to be choked by Afghanistan's spin guillotine one by one!
Bangladesh has lost many matches in ODIs. But despite being in a good position, such a terrible batting collapse! This surprise will haunt the team for a long time!
Short score: 235 (in 49.3 overs, Hasmatullah Shahidi 52, Nabi 84, Sediqullah Atal 21, Naib 22, Taskin 4/53, Mustafiz 4/58) Bangladesh: 143/10 (in 34.3 overs, Soumya 33, Shanto 47, Miraj 28, Ghazanfar 6/26, Rashid Khan 2/28). Result: Afghanistan won by 92 runs. Man of the Match: Ghazanfar.