Bangladesh’s preparations for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next year have started on a poor note. Afghanistan’s 18-year-old offspinner Allah Ghazanfar picked up six wickets, with Bangladesh nosediving from 120/2 to 143 all-out in the space of 8.4 overs as the Asian Tigers set out to chase 235.
Earlier, Taskin Ahmed (4 for 53) and Mustafizur Rahman (4 for 58) bludgeoned the top-order to leave Afghanistan in shambles at 71/ 5 after 20 overs. Captain Azmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi spent the next 20 overs cleaning up the mess, as they put on 104 for the sixth wicket before Mustafizur bowled the former. Shahidi perished for 52 (92), but Nabi tried to push with the lower-order for company.
It wasn’t much, but he did enough to nudge the team past the 200-run mark before becoming Taskin’s third victim, for an excellent 84 that included four fours and three sixes. Nangeyalia Kharote’s 27* beefed up the score a bit further as the eventual 235 proved to be more than enough to take a comfortable 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Brief Scores: Afghanistan 234 in 50 overs (Mohammad Nabi 84, Hashmatullah Shahidi 52; Taskin Ahmed 4-53, Mustafizur Rahman 4-58) beat Bangladesh 143 in 34.3 overs (Najmul Hossain Shanto 47; Allah Ghazanfar 6-26) by 92 runs
.@AzmatOmarzay is pumped up as he takes his 1st in the game, courtesy of an excellent catch by @FazalFarooqi10 in the deep. 💪⚡#AfghanAtalan | #AFGvBAN | #GloriousNationVictoriousTeam pic.twitter.com/d6xmRNtCh5
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) November 6, 2024
