Nurul Hasan Stars as Bangladesh Clinch Thriller Against Afghanistan in the 2nd T20I

Bangladesh clinched an absolute thriller against Afghanistan in the 2nd T20I at Sharjah. With this victory, they have now sealed the series with an unassailable lead of 2-0. Afghanistan tried their best to stop the tigers, however, they simply didn’t have enough runs on the board. By losing this match and series, Afghanistan now need to do a lot of thinking. Though they lost to Bangladesh by just 2 wickets, their performance in batting is the major concern that needs to be fixed quickly.

On the other hand, Bangladesh would be feeling a lot more confident after facing disappointment in the Asia Cup 2025. They also played good cricket in that tournament, but failed to reach the final due to a tough knockout game with Pakistan. By beating Afghanistan in back-to-back games, they have shown the world that they are ready for the T20 World Cup in 2026.

In today’s match, Bangladesh won the toss and decided to field first. Their decision to take the ball proved right, as Afghanistan once again stuttered with the bat in the first innings. The Afghan team started the match on a positive note. They played the Powerplay cautiously, keeping wickets in hand. This strategy worked well until Sediqullah Atal got out in the 8th over. Soon after his dismissal, Ibrahim Zadran also lost his wicket in the 11th over.

The fall of two set batters rocked the batting innings of Afghanistan. They were already playing with a low scoring rate, so the fall of wickets brought more pressure on the incoming batters. It was a tough game for the young debutant Wafiullah Tarakhil. He couldn’t do much in today’s game, as Bangladesh sent him back to the pavilion after facing just 4 balls.

The late striking of Mohammad Nabi, however, gave Afghanistan innings something to fight for. Due to his quick 20 runs, Afghanistan managed to score 147 against Bangladesh at the end of the first innings.

When Bangladesh came out to chase the target, they faced a stunning pushback by the Afghanistan bowlers. The tigers lost three quick wickets in the Powerplay while scoring just 37 runs. This huge blow brought immense pressure on the Bangladesh batters, however, Jaker Ali made sure to steady the innings afterwards.

He played a good hand with Shamim Hossain to stabilize the stuttering Bangladesh innings. However, as they were taking the chase deep, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed struck back by picking quick wickets. It was the moment when Bangladesh’s hopes were starting to fade, until Nurul Hasan produced a perfect cameo.

Just like yesterday’s match, Nurul Hasan made sure to stay in the middle till the last over. He played smartly by taking ones and twos when wickets at the other end were falling quickly. The batter then launched huge sixes in the end to seal the match for Bangladesh. His innings of 31 off 21 balls made the difference, allowing Bangladesh to clinch the series with a decisive 2-0 lead.