Bangladesh edged Afghanistan by two wickets in a nail-biting second ODI, with Shoriful Islam delivering an outstanding all-round performance that earned him the player of the match award.
After being left out of the previous game, Shoriful made his comeback count. The left-arm pacer bowled superbly with the new ball, keeping things tight in the powerplay, and later produced a brilliant yorker to bowl Rahmanullah Gurbaz. He finished with figures of 1 for 13 from 4 overs the best among Bangladeshi bowlers on the day.
In the chase, Bangladesh stumbled after a solid stand between Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain, losing wickets in clusters and slipping into danger once again. With 19 runs required off the final two overs, Shoriful joined Nurul Hasan Sohan at the crease. After Sohan cleared the ropes with a six, Shoriful struck a boundary, then sealed the victory with another four in the final over, remaining unbeaten on 11 from just 6 deliveries.
Speaking after the match, Shoriful said, “Alhamdulillah. The wicket was good and I tried to bowl the way I do in training. When I came in to bat, Sohan bhai told me not to throw my wicket away. I just tried to give my best with the bat and hit the full-length balls.”
The third and final T20I will take place at the same venue on 5 October, with Bangladesh having already secured the series after winning the opening two matches.
