Bangladesh Survive Collapse to Seal Victory Over Afghanistan in the 1st T20I

The first T20I between Afghanistan and Bangladesh proved to be a real thriller. It was a game that looked one-sided while Bangladesh's openers were batting. However, a batting collapse during the middle overs made things interesting, giving Afghanistan a way back into the match. Luckily, Bangladesh survived that collapse, as Nurul Hasan came up with a perfect cameo to secure the first victory for his team.

After winning the toss, Afghanistan decided to bat first. It was a correct decision, keeping in view the nature of the Sharjah surface. It is a ground where teams like to bat first, because chasing in the second innings often becomes difficult. The wicket at Sharjah usually slows down as the game progresses, so playing shots around the ground becomes a tough job here in the second innings.

Keeping that in view, Afghanistan also decided to bat first against Bangladesh in the first T20I at Sharjah. They wanted to start well in the Powerplay, but Bangladesh had some other plans in mind. The tigers made early breakthroughs by sending Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal and Darwish Rasooli back to the pavilion inside the Powerplay. This was a huge jolt to the Afghanistan side, as they were relying on these three batters to go big in the first six overs.

However, the arrival of Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the crease brought some calm to the Afghanistan batting. He made sure to steady the innings from one end, so that Bangladesh could not make more breakthroughs early in the innings. The star batter looked good in today’s match, as he timed the ball crisply throughout the innings. He played a spirited knock of 40 runs by smashing 2 fours and 3 sixes in total.

Alongside Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi also played a key role in steadying the stuttering Afghan innings. The veteran batter is known for producing such knocks in crucial moments, which is why the Afghan team still relies heavily on him to take the batting deep. Mohammad Nabi made sure to not lose further wickets, as he played a remarkable cameo at the end by scoring quick 38 runs.

Due to this late push, Afghanistan managed to score 151 at the end of the 1st innings. They were looking confident to defend the target in the second innings, however, the arrival of Bangladesh openers shattered their expectations.

The young duo of Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon played furiously in the Powerplay. They took down the Afghanistan bowlers aggressively, giving Bangladesh a solid start in the chase of 151. Both batters hit splendid fifties, giving Afghan bowlers a belt treatment from the start of the innings. Tanzid played a strong knock of 51 runs, while Emon scored 54 with the help of 4 fours and 3 sixes.

The chase was going on smoothly until Fareed Ahmad came up with a beauty to dismiss Parvez Hossain Emon. In the very next over, Tanzid Hasan also lost his wicket, giving Afghanistan some relief. Once these openers were gone, Rashid Khan came back roaring, as he took 3 quick wickets to rock back Bangladesh batting.

All of a sudden, half of the Bangladesh side was gone, courtesy of some ruthless Rashid Khan bowling. This made the Bangladesh dugout quite nervous, however, Nurul Hasan was still at the crease. He finally produced a magical knock to steady the sinking ship of tigers. Due to his remarkable cameo of 23 runs, Bangladesh survived a horrible collapse and completed the chase in the penultimate over. It was an innings that secured the hard work of the openers, giving Bangladesh a valuable win in the first match of the series.