Afghanistan whitewash Bangladesh in last ball thriller

FT ONLINE

Afghanistan on Thursday pipped Bangladesh by one run in their third and final Twenty/20 match at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun, India, whitewashing the series 3-0.

Chasing Afghanistan’s 146-run target, Bangladesh, once reeling at 35/3, missed the target by just one run after Mushfiqur Rahman (46 off 37) and Mahmudullah (45 off 38) took their side to the edge of victory.

Batting first, Afghanistan with a combined effort by top and middle order batsman helped them post a fighting 145/6 in the allotted 20 overs. With No 4 batsman Samiullah Shenwari remaining not out on 33, the designated home side lost six wickets in the allotted overs.

Bangladesh spinner Nazmul Islam and Jayed picked up two wickets each while Test and T20I Shakib al Hasan and occasional pacer Ariful bagged one scalp apiece. Shakib dismissed middle-order batsman Najibullah Zadran to emerge as the fastest cricketer to reach the double of 500 wickets and 10,000 runs in international cricket.

The new cricketing sensation Rashid Khan was adjudged “Man of the series”, while Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur was chosen as the “Man of the Match”. Rashid bagged eight wickets in the three-match series with an exceptional economy of 4.45, averaging 6.12.

The Tigers were restricted to 144 for the loss of six wickets, with wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim top-scoring with a 37-ball 46, featuring seven fours. All-rounder Mahmudullah chipped in with a 38-ball 45, including three boundaries and a couple of sixes.