In a high-stakes do-or-die encounter, Bangladesh suffered an all-round collapse as they were comprehensively beaten by 7 wickets against Afghanistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, officially knocking Phil Simmons’ squad out of the T20 Tri-Nation Series. Afghanistan effortlessly chased down Bangladesh’s target of 160 runs with 3 wickets down and a staggering 87 balls to spare, shattering the Tigers’ hopes of reaching the tournament final after back-to-back defeats.
Despite fielding three tactical changes in the XI, Bangladesh endured a disastrous start after being put in to bat. Afghan pacer Yamin Ahmadzai struck immediate double blows on back-to-back deliveries to remove openers Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Soumya Sarkar. Before the team could recover, Najmul Hossain Shanto fell cheaply, while captain Towhid Hridoy was dismissed for a duck, leaving the Tigers reeling at a dismal 28 for 4.
Parvez Hossain Emon (70) and Saif Hassan (41) mounted a valiant recovery effort to rebuild the innings. However, relentless bowling pressure from the Afghan attack eventually folded Bangladesh’s innings for 160.
In reply, Afghanistan faced early tremors as Taskin Ahmed dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal, while Mustafizur Rahman removed Ibrahim Zadran. However, an unbeaten, composed half-century from Rahmat Shah, supported by solid middle-order batting, guided Afghanistan safely to the target in just 5.3 overs (with 87 balls remaining).
