Bangladesh left it late but held their nerve in Sharjah on Friday night, pulling off a two-wicket win over Afghanistan to clinch the three-match T20I series with a game to spare.

Set 148 to chase, the visitors looked comfortable at 102 for 4 with Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain striking freely. But a flurry of wickets — sparked by Azmatullah Omarzai’s fiery spell — left Bangladesh reeling at 129 for 8. Suddenly, the game was back in the balance.

That was when Nurul Hasan and Shoriful Islam steadied things. Nurul cleared the ropes three times in his 31 not out off 21 balls, while Shoriful — better known for his left-arm pace — swung his bat for a priceless 11 off six. His pulled boundary off Omarzai in the 19th over sealed the win with five balls to spare.

Earlier, Afghanistan’s innings had promised more than the final 147 for 5. Ibrahim Zadran played the anchor with 38, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz struck 30 in his usual busy style. Nabi added a quick 20 at the end, but Bangladesh’s bowlers — led by Shoriful (1 for 13) and Nasum Ahmed (2 for 25) — kept a lid on the scoring.

Jaker (32 off 25) and Shamim (33 off 22) gave Bangladesh the middle-overs push that seemed enough to break Afghanistan’s grip, but Omarzai’s four wickets and Rashid Khan’s guile nearly turned the match around.

“It feels good — we’ve been clinical in both games,” said stand-in captain Jaker. “Our bowlers set the tone and the batters showed character against quality spin. Credit to the boys for staying positive.”

Shoriful, named Player of the Match, said his plan was simple: “I just wanted to do what I’d been working on in practice. With the bat, Nurul told me to stay calm, and I backed myself.”

Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan admitted they were short on runs.

“We needed 15 or 20 more. The spinners bowled well and Omarzai was outstanding, but we couldn’t finish strongly,” he said after the match.