Afghanistan and Bangladesh took on each other in the second match of Group B in the Asia Cup 2022. The fans got to see another dominant performance from the Afghanistan team who absolutely demolished the opposition to win their second consecutive match of this edition of the Asia Cup.
The team seemed to be in zero trouble as it outplayed Bangladesh in all departments of the game to register another comfortable win. With this win, the Mohammed Nabi lead side has cemented its place in the Super 4 stages. Bangladesh on the other hand is left on the brink along with Sri Lanka to fight for a place in the top 2 of Group B and thus qualify for the Super 4s.
Several moments that took place during the game, determined the course of the match. Afghanistan ultimately emerged victorious while the Bangladesh team had to taste the bitter taste of loss. It’s time for us to have a look at the Top 3 talking points from Afghanistan’s win over Bangladesh:-
3. Bangladesh’s top order failed to resist the opening spell of the bowlers
The top order of Bangladesh who had been highly relied upon by the team to win them several matches in the past dropped a highly disappointing performance in the match vs Afghanistan. The top three batters were back in the hut even before the powerplay had ended.
The batters at the top of the batting order couldn’t find a way to survive the opening spell of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and ended up perishing one by one. After losing prominent batters like Shakib, Mushfiqur and Anamul inside the first 6 overs, Bangladesh never really seemed to get back into the game thereon.
2. Najibullah Zadran’s counter-attacking batting approach destroyed all of Bangladesh’s remaining hopes
Bangladesh did a fairly good job with the ball early on while defending a low total of 127. After having lost the top-order batters midway between the innings and with the pressure increasing due to the required run rate soaring higher, it really seemed as if Bangladesh would run away with the game.
It was then that Najibullah Zadran took matters into his own hands and started to bring Afghanistan back into the game. He stitched a crucial partnership with Ibrahim Zadran and the duo started to steer the innings cautiously.
Najibullah didn’t let the run rate put any sort of pressure on the team as he displayed some unimaginable range of shots to put the pressure right back on the bowlers. He scored a magnificent 43 off just 17 balls. His innings ensured that Afghanistan would reach their target without much hindrance.
1. Spin duo of Afghanistan made things happen for them
Rashid Khan along with Mujeeb Ur Rahman made the match a memorable one for all the Afghanistan supporters. The duo picked 3 wickets each as the Bangladesh batters didn’t stand a chance.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman at first demolished the top order including Mohammed Naim, Anamul Haque and Shakib Al Hasan by removing them all inside the powerplay. Rashid Khan then took the onus of continuing the onslaught with the ball in hand as he too picked a three wicket haul.
His strikes included wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain and Mahmudullah Riyaz. With the spin duo of Afghanistan doing wonders with such effectiveness, the Bangladeshi team didn’t really have much to do but say a little prayer.
The 6 wickets picked by Rashid and Mujeeb combined played a crucial role in Bangladesh’s being restricted to a total of just 127.
