Bangladesh keeps Super Four hopes alive with 8-run victory

Bangladesh kept its hopes of playing in the Super Four alive by restricting Afghanistan to 146 runs. Bangladesh won the match by 8 runs in Abu Dhabi's Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Batting first, they scored 154 runs. In reply, Afghanistan could not score more than 146 runs.

Bangladesh is at number two in the table with 4 points from their three matches with two wins and one loss. However, they are not yet sure of their ticket to the Super Four.

A rapid half-century from Tanzid Hasan Tamim guided Bangladesh to 154-5 in their must-win Asia Cup clash against Afghanistan at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi today.

Bangladesh, viewing the total as defendable on a sluggish pitch, made the most of a quick start after captain Liton Das opted to bat first.

Tanzid led the charge with a 31-ball 52, smashing four fours and three sixes. His aggression gave Bangladesh early momentum, with 60 runs coming in the powerplay. His partner, Saif Hasan -- replacing Parvez Hossain Emon -- played a supporting role, scoring 30 off 28 balls before falling to Afghan skipper Rashid Khan.

After a bright start, Bangladesh slowed down considerably as the pitch deteriorated. Left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad turned the tide with two quick strikes, trapping in-form Liton Das leg-before for 9, and removing Tanzid in his next over. Noor finished with impressive figures of 2-23 from four overs.

Rashid Khan also claimed two wickets for 26 runs, including the dismissal of Shamim Patwari (11), while Azmatullah Omarzai chipped in with 1-19 in three overs. Although wicketless, Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled tightly at the death, restricting Bangladesh's late-innings acceleration.

After reaching 87-1 in the first 10 overs, Bangladesh managed just 67 runs for four wickets in the second half of the innings, as Afghanistan clawed back control.

With the pitch slowing down further, Bangladesh hopes their total will challenge Afghan batters under increasingly difficult batting conditions.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Sediqullah Atal was out lbw after playing a wrong delivery. The left-handed opener did not even take a review after realizing that he was out for sure. Then, Ibrahim was out lbw on the first ball of Nasum's third over after scoring just 5 runs off 12 balls. Afghanistan lost 2 wickets in five overs and came under pressure. Meanwhile, the Afghans' total in the first 6 overs stood at 27 runs for 2 wickets.

Rishad Hossain sent Gulbadin Naib back to the dressing room with a return catch on the third ball of the ninth over. Afghanistan's total in 8.3 overs was 51 runs for 3 wickets. After the first 10 overs of the innings, their total stood at 61 runs for 3 wickets.

Then, wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz returned with 35 runs off 31 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. He was caught at deep square leg by Zakir Ali Anik while hitting a six off a leg-spinner.

Afghanistan's experienced batsman was bowled by Mustafizur Rahman. He scored only 15 runs off 15 balls. Afghanistan lost half their batsmen after scoring only 77 runs in 13 overs. Afghanistan's total stood at 110 for 6 in 16 overs.

Karim Janat, who had scored 6 runs off 8 balls, was run out in Nasum's last over. Afghanistan's total stood at 128 for 7 in 18 overs. They needed 27 runs off the remaining 12 balls. Rashid Khan, the Afghans' last hope, played 16 runs off 9 balls.

Rashid Khan, who was a thorn in Bangladesh's path to victory, was dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman. The Afghan captain hit a boundary with a no-look shot on the first ball of the 19th over. The batsman, who had scored 20 runs off 11 balls, was caught by third man on the next ball. Later, Mustafiz also brought back Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar with the third ball of the over, raising the possibility of a hat-trick.

Brief Scores:
Bangladesh: 154/5 in 20 overs (Saif 30, Tamim 52, Liton 9, Hridoy 26, Shamim 11, Anik 12*, Sohan 12*; Farooqui 4-0-37-0, Omarzai 3-0-19-1, Ghazanfar 3-0-32-0, Rashid 4-0-26-2, Nabi 2-0-17-0, Noor 4-0-23-2)

Afghanistan: 146 in 20 overs (Sediqullah 0, Gurbaz 35, Ibrahim 5, Naib 16, Nabi 15, Omarzai 30, Janat 8, Rashid 20, Noor 14, Ghazanfar 0, Farooqui 2*; Nasum 4-1-11-2, Taskin 4-0-34-1, Mustafiz 4-0-28-3, Rishad 4-0-18-2, Shamim 1-0-16-0, Saif 3-0-39-0)