Bangladesh’s chase of 294 in Abu Dhabi ended in a catastrophic batting collapse, all out for 93 in 27.1 overs, as Bilal Sami’s five-wicket haul and Rashid Khan’s spin magic handed Afghanistan a 200-run victory and a 3-0 series whitewash. This is Afghanistan’s second-largest win in terms of runs.
At the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Bangladesh would have needed a historic effort to chase down the target. Scores above 290 have only been successfully chased by Pakistan, who achieved 295 against the West Indies in 2008, with only six teams in history managing to chase 250 or more. Bangladesh, however, barely made an impression.
Apart from Saif Hassan, no Bangladeshi batter showed any real intent. His 43* was the only score in double figures; others managed 7, 3, 7, 6, 0, 2, 5, 4 and 9. The collapse began in the 17th over when Rashid Khan came on to bowl. Towhid Hridoy was bowled off the first delivery attempting a back-foot shot. Saif, who had shown promise with three sixes and two fours off 54 balls, fell to Rashid’s googly at 70 for 2. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz was caught behind attempting a drive outside off stump, Shamim Hossain Patwary was run out without scoring, and Nurul Hasan Sohan became Rashid’s third victim.
Earlier, Najmul Hossain Shanto, batting at three, was bowled, and Naeem Sheikh, returning at number eleven, left his crease for a risky shot in search of a boundary and was caught at slip off Azmatullah Omarzai’s bowling. While Saif displayed techniques to counter both pacers and spinners with pulls, square cuts and slog sweeps, the rest of the batting line-up succumbed to Rashid’s googlies. As spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed observed: “The batters were playing the bowler, not the ball.”
This mindset exposed the limitations of the team in modern cricket. Despite claims that Bangladeshi players excel in reading spin and one-day tactics, the series against Afghanistan told a very different story.
Afghanistan, in contrast, seemed to save their best batting for this match. Openers Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz put on 99 runs, Sediqullah Atal resisted in the middle order, and Mohammad Nabi’s 62 off 37 balls in the death overs helped Afghanistan reach 293 for 9. Ibrahim, unfortunately, was denied a century for the second consecutive match, falling for 95 again.
Batting first after winning the toss, Gurbaz and Ibrahim dominated the powerplay with 66 runs. Compared to their previous two matches, Afghanistan’s approach was far more aggressive. Gurbaz was eventually dismissed for 44, caught off left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam despite taking a review.
Bangladesh’s brief fightback came through Saif Hassan. In the 32nd over, he caught Sediqullah off a return catch and, an over later, Hashmatullah Shahidi took a catch off Saif to remove Hridoy. Saif also trapped Ikram Alikhil with a superb length ball, finishing with figures of 4-1-6-3. Yet, when he was removed from the attack, the opportunity to maintain pressure faded.
Even as Omarzai and Rashid returned, Nabi remained unflappable, showing the art of power hitting at 41. Afghanistan scored 89 runs for 4 wickets in the final overs, with 44 coming from Nabi alone. Miraz was hit for three sixes in the 49th over, and Hasan claimed two wickets, with the last over producing three fours and a six. Bilal Sami, after his early heroics, watched from the sidelines as Nabi’s late flourish ensured the margin of victory widened. Despite a promising start, Bangladesh could not contain Afghanistan within 220–230, with Nabi ultimately deciding the outcome.
