Bangladesh won by 2 wickets in the first T20 match of the series against Afghanistan. In response to the 155 runs target given by the Afghans, the Tigers reached the target with 1 ball in hand. Despite Afghanistan’s Karim Janat’s hat-trick in the last over, Tigers eventually left the field with a victory. Thus Shakib Al Hasan’s team took a 1-0 lead in the BAN vs AFG T20I series.
Afghanistan’s Batting Performance
Table: Afghanistan’s Top Performers
| Player | Runs |
| Mohammad Nabi | 54 (Not Out) |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 33 |
| Najibullah Zadran | 23 |
Read more: 1st T20I: Tigers leave it late but win despite Janat hattrick
After winning the toss, Shakib Al Hasan sent Afghans to batting. However, Afghanistan got its expected score. At the time of the toss, Afghan captain Rashid Khan said they were eyeing around 150 runs, and they scored 154 runs from 7 wickets.
Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz were openers for Afghanistan. Even though they started slowly, the duo overcame the Bangladeshi bowlers in the second over. However, Zazai returned to the pavilion for 8 runs after being defeated by Nasum’s spin. Then Ibrahim Zadran came to the crease. Rahmanullah was sent to the pavilion in the fourth over of the match, as he was caught by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. He scored 16 runs with two boundaries and a six before being dismissed by Taskin. Later, Karim Janat came to the wicket to make a partnership with Ibrahim. However, the visitors did not get any benefit from that. Ibrahim, who achieved a remarkable century in the ODI, made his way back to the dressing room following his dismissal by Shoriful's fast bowling.
Afghanistan lost wickets at regular intervals, and they were under pressure. In 7.4 overs of the match, Tiger captain Shakib sent Karim Janat to the pavilion. Later, Nabi and Najibullah led the team’s innings and reduced some pressure; 35 runs come from this pair. However, Miraz broke their partnership. In the 13th over of the match, Najibullah was caught out by Liton in Miraz’s ball. He scored 23 runs before getting out. In the last minute of the match, Azmatullah Omarzai started scoring runs quickly with fours and sixes. However, he had to stop at 33 runs in Shakib’s spin. Then the Afghan captain Rashid Khan came to the wicket.
Read more: Overview of BAN vs AFG ODI Series 2023
Mohammad Nabi scored the fifth fifty of his T20 career by hitting Mustafizur for a boundary in 19.3 balls of the match. Then he added 1 more run. As a result, Nabi played a great innings of 54 runs when the team was struggling. The Afghans stopped at 154 runs.
Bangladesh’s Bowling Performance
Shakib Al Hasan used six bowlers, including himself, and all of them got at least one wicket. Nasum, Taskin, Shoriful, Mustafiz, and Miraz got one wicket each. Only Shakib Al Hasan got two wickets. Shakib, Taskin, and Mustafiz bowled four overs, while Nasum and Shoriful bowled 3 overs each. However, Miraz bowled 2 overs.
Bangladesh’s Batting Performance
Table: Bangladesh’s Top Performers
| Player | Runs |
| Towhid Hridoy | 47 (not out) |
| Shamim Hossain | 33 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 19 |
Read more: Bangladesh Women's team beat India in 3rd T20I
The host Bangladesh got a shock at the beginning when they came to bat. Rony Talukdar and Litton Das opened the innings for Bangladesh. However, Roni returned after being bowled at the last ball of the first over of the match. He scored 4 runs before being dismissed by Farooqi.
Then Najmul Hossain Shanto came to the crease to lead the team. He started to rotate the strike by understanding the behavior of the wicket. Further, Litton also tried to advance the team’s innings with Shanto. In the sixth over of the match, Shanto was unfortunately dismissed by Mujeeb after scoring 12 runs. After that, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan came to the wicket. Litton gave away the wicket before being partnered with Shakib. Litton scored 18 runs off 19 balls in this match.
After that, the Shakib-Hridoy duo continued to advance the team’s innings. However, Shakib returned to the pavilion after being caught by Karim on Fareed’s ball. The Tiger captain scored 19 runs in three boundaries.
Next, Shamim Hossain came to the pitch. As soon as he started batting, he fell into LBW but the umpire denied the appeal. Shamim-Hridoy took the team’s innings slowly after handling the pressure. This pair scored 73 runs. Shamim gave away his wicket on a wrong shot to bring the team to the edge of victory. He was caught by Gurbaz while sweeping Rashid’s ball. He had to stop at 33 runs.
Read more: ICC World Cup 2023: Schedule, Fixtures, Venues, Team List
Then Mehidy Hasan Miraz came to pitch. However, while playing Karim’s ball to midwicket, he was caught by Nabi. After that, Taskin and Nasum got out in the next two balls and Karim Janat got his hat trick. This turned the match into drama. However, Shoriful Islam took a boundary after coming to the wicket. As a result, the Tigers reached the target.
Afghanistan’s Bowling Performance
Rashid Khan used 7 bowlers, and all of them got wickets except Mohammad Nabi. Farooqi, Mujeeb, Azmatullah, Rashid, and Fareed got one wicket each. However, Karim Janat got a hat trick by bowling 1.5 overs.
Final Words
The second and last match of the 2023 BAN vs AFG T20I series will take place on July 16 at the same venue at the same time. The first match was very close for both teams. So, it is evident that both teams will take mental preparation to fight hard. But yesterday’s win will surely boost the tiger’s confidence.