Asia Cup 2023

Here’s how things stand at Asia Cup 2022 after Bangladesh vs Afghanistan fixture

Here's a look at the updated points table after the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan match.

Aug 31, 2022 11:40 am

Afghanistan locked horns with Bangladesh in Match 3 of the Asia Cup 2022 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan overcame an early stutter and registered a 7-wicket win against Bangladesh. With this win, they have become the first team to qualify for the Super Fours.

Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first on Tuesday. However, the decision backfired as the top order was entangled in the web of Mujeeb Ur Rahman. He got rid of Bangladesh’s top three inside the powerplay including the vital wicket of skipper Shakib Al Hasan.

Bangladesh’s middle-order batters struggled to get going as Rashid Khan struck at regular intervals to dent the opposition further. Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain tried to revive their side but the ace-spinner struck for the third time in the match, getting rid of Mahmudullah.

There was some great hitting at the end from Mosaddek as he tried to get his team to a respectable score but the bowlers restricted the Bangla Tigers to a below-par total of 127 runs. Mosaddek was unbeaten on 48 runs off 31 deliveries. Mujeeb and Rashid ended up bagging three wickets each.

Afghanistan, in response, had a very cautious start. The spinners strangled the openers and took the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the powerplay. Hazratullah Zazai who was the hero of the last match too was not able to get going and his struggle came to an end in the 10th over. Skipper Mohammed Nabi promoted himself higher up the order but the move didn’t pay off and Afghanistan were in a spot of bother at 62 for 3.

Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran joined hands to lead their team’s fightback with a match-winning unbeaten stand for the fourth wicket. The duo added a crucial 69 runs and get their side home. Najibullah was the aggressor in the partnership and he played an entertaining knock of 43 runs off 17 balls which included six sixes. Mujeeb was adjudged the Player of the Match for his 3-fer.

With the win, Nabi & Co. have booked their spot in the Super Fours. On the other hand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both having lost to Afghanistan, will face each other in a do-or-die clash on September 1.

This is how things stand in both the groups after the Afghanistan vs Bangladesh fixture.