Bangladesh suffered a crushing 81-run loss to Afghanistan in the second ODI at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, falling short in their chase of 191 and confirming the series defeat with a match to spare.
From the early stages, Afghanistan’s field placements and bowling tactics highlighted their control. In the 13th over, Azmatullah Omarzai bowled with a slip in place, a rare sight in modern ODIs, while by the 24th over, Rashid Khan was operating with two slips and a leg slip, keeping constant pressure on the Bangladeshi batters.
Bangladesh’s innings collapsed to 109 all out in just 28.3 overs, failing to show resilience after their previous match victory. Rashid Khan’s guile and trademark googlies proved too much, leaving the Tigers’ top and middle order struggling throughout. This marked Bangladesh’s third consecutive series loss of the year and their lowest ODI total against Afghanistan.
Rashid struck early after the powerplay, removing Towhid Hridoy (33 off 33 balls). Consecutive googlies then accounted for Nurul Hasan and Tanzim Hasan Sakib, with a near hat-trick denied only by Rishad Hossain surviving a close leg-glance review. Rashid finished with exceptional figures of 8.3-2-17-5.
The Abu Dhabi pitch, initially pace-friendly, gradually became more supportive of spin. While the wicket was not unplayable, Bangladesh’s batters were unable to adapt, collapsing under pressure. Omarzai claimed three of the first four wickets, leaving only Najmul Hossain Shanto run out as a brief resistance. Tanzid Hasan Tamim was caught at fine leg attempting a pull shot, Saif Hassan managed 22 runs, and captain Mehedy Hasan Miraz was dismissed LBW, failing even after review.
Afghanistan’s chase was anchored by a brilliant 95 off 140 balls from Ibrahim Zadran, who struck three fours and a six. His innings dominated the scoring, with only Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar contributing a modest 22. A potential seventh century was denied by a sharp mid-wicket catch taken by Rishad Hossain.
Earlier, Bangladesh had taken some early wickets after winning the toss. Tanzim Hasan Sakib trapped Rahmanullah Gurbaz at square leg, while Jaker Ali caught Mohammad Nabi for 22 off 30. Miraz picked up three wickets, including Sediqullah Atal, while Rashid removed both Azmatullah Omarzai and Ghazanfar. Despite these early strikes, Afghanistan’s innings remained under Zadran’s control, ultimately carrying them to a commanding total.
