Afghanistan’s dramatic 92-run victory over Bangladesh in the 1st ODI as it was kicked off by a stunning collapse, Bangladesh losing 8 wickets for just 23 runs. Bangladesh was set when the chase went past the halfway mark of 118, on 118 for 2, needing 118 more runs with eight wickets in hand. But all this was changed in a jiffy by Afghanistan spinners taking over, well backed up by AM Ghazanfar, who reached a career-best 6 for 26. Rashid Khan also made his presence felt with two wickets as the Afghanistan spin duo ran Bangladesh’s tail over.
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AMG Shines and AfghanAtalan register a terrific victory in the 1st match of the ODI series against @BCBtigers!
Enjoy the winning moments here! π#AfghanAtalan | #AFGvBAN | #GloriousNationVictoriousTeam pic.twitter.com/TvpJQ6AafQ---Advertisement---— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) November 6, 2024
Crucial Breakthrough For Afghanistan At The Start
At that moment, Mohammad Nabi’s tactical switch in fielding helped break a 55-run partnership between Najmul Hossain Shanto on 47 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz on 4. Nabi then brought a second slip for Shanto and left square leg vacant. That paid off when Shanto tried a sweep shot and top-edged it to Hashmatullah Shahidi at short fine leg. This wicket led to a collapse, and five overs later, Mehidy fell to a brilliant diving catch by Azmatullah Omarzai, also at short fine leg.
Ghanzafar’s Mighty Spell Crushes Bangladesh
In the 31st over, Ghazanfar took over till the last three overs with three consecutive wickets including the stumping of Mushfiqur Rahim and the lbw dismissal of Rishad Hossain and Taskin Ahmed in the same over, all off carrom balls. In the previous over, Rashid Khan had cleaned up Mahmudullah off a googly. Ghazanfar’s momentum did not ease up as he sent back Rishad and Taskin with two successive deliveries that left Bangladesh at the bended knee, withering away into nothingness. All that remained to be asked was whether Ghazanfar would do a hat-trick; he did not, but still managed to do the job by sending Shoriful Islam off the last delivery of the 35th over, clinching victory for Afghanistan.
Powerful Batting By Afghanistan
Two contrasting knocks had set up Afghanistan’s victory earlier in their own innings. Reduced to 71 for 5 in the 20th over, Hashmatullah Shahidi steadied the ship with a patient 52 off 92 balls, while Mohammad Nabi played a more aggressive role, blasting 84 off 79 deliveries. Their 104-run partnership gave Afghanistan a platform from which they could then reach a competitive total. His innings had many moments of fortune, including a missed lbw call on 37, when Bangladesh opted not to review, and a mistimed slog shot that fell short of a fielder at long-off.
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1st ODI: A Nightmare For Bangladesh
With Bangladesh’s luckless review, Nabi capitalized on it as the game progressed and added crucial contributions to beat 200. His six over midwicket off Mustafizur in the 47th over ensured that Afghanistan could muster a total of 235, with Nangeyalia Kharote adding handy 27* to the death overs. For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman took four wickets each as they strangled Afghanistan’s tail to just 235.
In the chase, Bangladesh’s spinners couldn’t recover, let Ghazanfar’s match-winning spell and Rashid’s mastery take the batting line-up of Bangladesh completely apart. An early few reprieves did not matter much – missed chances and dropped catches – as Afghanistan’s spinners took full advantage to bowl Bangladesh out for just 120 and grab a dramatic 92-run victory.
