Afghanistan 115 for 5 (Gurbaz 43, Rishad 3-26) Bangladesh 105 (Liton 54*, Rashid 4-23, Naveen 4-26) 8 runs DLS
Both teams, along with Australia, were battling for one of the semi-final spots from Group 1 of the Super Eights, but rain added to the drama. It was a chase for much of the final hour, with Bangladesh briefly beating Afghanistan on par at DLS before Afghanistan took a wicket to turn the game around.
Drama after the second rainy season
Bangladesh had to chase down an initial target of 116 runs in 12.1 overs to beat both Australia and Afghanistan and progress to the semi-finals. The chase was delayed by 30 minutes due to a 20-minute downpour, which worked to Bangladesh’s detriment.
But after the rains subsided for the second time, Bangladesh sent mixed signals. Liton attacked Naveen, Soumya Sarkar tried to attack Rashid but fell, and Tweed Hridoy’s delivery to Mohammed Nabi risked a dropped ball but he too was out against Rashid. But Liton smashed consecutive fours to Rashid, first over mid-off and then just past the slips, and Bangladesh looked on track to chase the target for qualification.
But soon Mahmudullah’s indecisiveness and Rishad Hossain’s adventurousness saw them slip to 80 for 7 after 11 overs. It was then that the rain clouds began to hover around the stadium again and DLS’s par score was a constant thought for the rest of the evening.
Litton seemed to keep his cool as the pressure mounted. He had a forgettable year in 2024, scoring less than 100 T20I runs and his place in the Bangladesh team was heavily questioned. But he played with drive and kept alive the team’s hopes of finishing the T20 World Cup with a win, which was to be.
Naveen’s new-ball blast excites Bangladesh
Naveen’s first over was costly, with Litton hitting a four and a six. Nazmul Hossain Shanto bowled a ball over midwicket in his second over. But it was deep midwicket and Naveen again bowled a length ball to Shanto, who got the fielder out there. Naveen straightened the next ball and caught Shakib Al Hasan off the leading edge for a return catch, leaving Bangladesh at 23 for 3.
Afghanistan is stable but slow
One thing that has worked for Afghanistan and their opening XI in this World Cup has been an unadventurous start. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran were in their usual form, taking few chances in the powerplay or in the first 10 overs. They ended the powerplay at 27-0 and were 58-0 after 10 overs.
It was Gurbaz and Ibrahim’s fourth fifty-run partnership, the most by any pair in a T20 World Cup, with just 15 attacking shots attempted in the first 10 overs and on a surface that was slowing and likely to show dew in the later stages.
Rishad saves Bangladesh from a difficult situation
When Rishad came on to bowl in the ninth over, the wind was blowing diagonally from right to left, in the direction of his natural spin, and he quickly beat Ibrahim’s outside edge and then, in the second over, used the bounce to catch the same batsman off the leading edge at long-off.
Gurbaz attacked Rishad in the third over. First, Rishad hit one through cover-point to end a streak of no fours off 38 consecutive balls, then swept it over the backward square leg area for another four. But Rishad had the last laugh in the final over, hitting Gurbaz back to deep cover. A few balls later, he forced Gulbadin Naib to mis-slice to cover-point, and Naib’s escape might have been saved by Sarkar’s run from deep, just inside the 30-metre circle. And so Afghanistan lost their early advantage, dropping from 59-0 to 89-4.
Rashid’s Intervention
Rashid was out on 93 for 5 with 14 balls remaining. He attempted attacking shots with 10 of those and struck with nine, finishing with 19 not out. Rashid hit three sixes, two of which came in the final over bowled by Tanzim Hasan Saqib. Rashid used the willow well, with the only exception being when he bowled to his partner Karim Janat. It was the final over of the innings and Rashid went for a second run to stay on strike, but Janat denied him. Nevertheless, Rashid helped Afghanistan score 22 off the last 14 balls, helping Afghanistan to a fighting total when the Kingstown skies opened up.
Afghanistan faced 66 dot balls during their innings, the third-most by a team with five wickets or less in men’s T20Is for which ball-by-ball tally is available on ESPNcricinfo, but that again did not have a detrimental effect on Afghanistan, who defended their total well at St Vincent’s.
S Sudarshanan is Associate Editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Sudarshanan7
