Bangladesh held their nerve in a tense run chase to defeat Afghanistan by two wickets in the second T20I at the Sharjah International Stadium on Friday, sealing the three-match series 2-0.
Nurul Hasan Sohan struck a calm unbeaten 31 off 21 balls while tail-ender Shoriful Islam chipped in with a priceless cameo to take Bangladesh past the line after a mid-innings collapse nearly derailed the chase.
It feels good. As a team, we’ve played really well in the last two games, and today we were more clinical.The bowlers set the tone, the wicket was better than yesterday, and we showed good character. Credit to the boys for that.
Omarzai’s Four-For Not Enough
Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai returned superb figures of 4-23, twice swinging momentum back in his side’s favour, but his efforts went in vain. Defending 147, Omarzai knocked over Tanzid Tamim and Parvez Hossain early, then returned in the 18th over to remove Saifuddin and Rishad Hossain in quick succession.
At 132/8, the match was in the balance, but Sohan’s composure and Shoriful’s calculated hitting against Noor Ahmad and Omarzai in the closing overs clinched it for Bangladesh.
Shamim, Jaker Revive Chase
Earlier, with the Tigers reduced to 24/3, Shamim Hossain (33 off 22) and Jaker Ali (32 off 25) stitched a crucial 56-run stand. Shamim took the attack to Rashid Khan, while Jaker rotated strike efficiently before both fell in the middle overs to leave the lower order under pressure.
Afghanistan Fall Short With The Bat
Put in to bat, Afghanistan began brightly through Ibrahim Zadran (38 off 37) and Sediqullah Atal (23 off 19) in a 55-run opening stand. But once the partnership was broken, Bangladesh’s spinners squeezed the middle overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz made a brisk 30, but the finishing kick never came. Omarzai (19*) and veteran Mohammad Nabi (20*) added 31 for the sixth wicket, taking Afghanistan to 147/5 – a total that proved just short.
I feel that today at least the positive sign was our fielding — we delivered what we wanted — but we still fell short of some runs. Early on, the wicket was better for batting. Azmat bowled brilliantly, but with so many spinners, it was hard to give everyone a proper spell.
Series Wrapped Up With A Game To Spare
The two-wicket win followed Bangladesh’s four-wicket victory in the first T20I, giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead. The third and final match will be played at the same venue on October 5.
Brief Scores: Afghanistan 147/5 in 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 38, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 30, Sediqullah Atal 23; Nasum Ahmed 2-25, Rishad Hossain 2-45) Bangladesh 150/8 in 19.1 overs (Shamim Hossain 33, Jaker Ali 32, Nurul Hasan 31*; Azmatullah Omarzai 4-23, Rashid Khan 2-29). Bangladesh won by two wickets; lead series 2-0
