Shoriful Islam produced a miserly spell with the ball and added crucial runs with the bat as Bangladesh secured a two-wicket win over Afghanistan in the second T20I in Sharjah. The result gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Once again, Bangladesh had to recover from a collapse after a strong position in their chase, with Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali and Nurul Hasan playing key roles in the middle order. Shoriful’s all-round contribution proved decisive in a tense finish.
Bangladesh slipped from 102 for 4 to 129 for 8 in the space of four overs. Noor Ahmad removed Shamim for 33, before Nasum Ahmed, who looked competent with the bat until he unnecessarily slogged at Rashid Khan, fell in the 16th over. Azmatullah Omarzai removed both Mohammad Saifuddin and Rishad Hossain in the 18th over.
Bangladesh needed 19 runs to win in 12 balls, with eight wickets gone, but Nurul Hasan kept them in the hunt. He started the 19th over with a six off Noor, before taking a single. At the time, it seemed like a dicey move. But with three runs coming off wides and seven off Shoriful’s bat – that included a straight boundary – it left Bangladesh with just two to win in the final over.
Shoriful had kept the strike for the last over, and crashed Omarzai’s first ball down the ground for the winning runs. Nurul remained unbeaten 31 off 21 balls, while Shoriful smashed a decisive 11* in six deliveries.
Omarzai gave Afghanistan the perfect start with the ball, removing openers Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain. Rashid took a good tumbling catch at mid-off to get Tanzid in the second over, before Omarzai trapped Parvez lbw in his next over. Saif Hassan struck a couple of sixes on either side of the wicket, but became Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s victim in the fifth over. Sediqullah Atal took a catch running back from extra cover, as Bangladesh slipped to 24 for 3.
Shamim responded to the situation aggressively, hammering Rashid for a six to end the powerplay. Jaker then struck his first six in seven innings when he lofted Mohammad Nabi over long-on. It was followed by a flick over square leg off Abdollah Ahmadzai in the next over.
Shamim struck his second six, a huge hit over midwicket, off Noor, as Bangladesh looked on the path to recovery. Jaker, who reached double figures after four consecutive single-figure scores, fell lbw to his opposite number Rashid for the second game in a row, as the fourth-wicket stand between him and Shamim ended on 56.
Afghanistan started slowly, managing only 35 runs in the powerplay, but they did not lose a wicket. Atal tried to up the ante in the eighth over, hitting Rishad for a couple of sixes. But it was followed by his wicket next ball, as the left-hander was caught at long-on for 23. That broke the opening partnership on 55, before Nasum had Zadran caught at long-on, too, for 38 off 37 balls. When newcomer Wafiullah Tarakhil fell for 1, also taken at long-on, Afghanistan’s steady start had evaporated.
Nasum removed Darwish Rasooli after he had struck him for a six the previous ball. Rahmanullah Gurbaz struck Rishad for two sixes, but fell to Shoriful in the 17th over, having made 30. Afghanistan made just 40 runs in the last five overs, losing one wicket, and hitting just two sixes during this phase.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 150 for 8 in 19.1 overs (Saif Hassan 18, Shamim Hossain 33, Jaker Ali 32, Nurul Hasan 31*, Nasum Ahmed 10, Shoriful Islam 11*; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 1-18, Azmatullah Omarzai 4-23, Rashid Khan 2-29, Noor Ahmad 1-40) beat Afghanistan 147 for 5 in 20 overs (Sediqullah Atel 23, Ibrahim Zadran 38, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 30, Darwish Rasooli 14, Azmatullah Omarzai 19*, Mohammad Nabi 20*; Shoriful Islam 1-13, Nasum Ahmed 2-25, Rishad Hossain 2-45) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
