2nd ODI, Chattogram, July 08, 2023, 01:30 PM
Afghanistan
331/9(50.0ov)
Bangladesh
189/10(43.2ov)
Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 142 runs
Best Batsmen
R
B
4S
6S
SR
Best Bowler
O
R
W
Econ
Man of the Match
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Commentry
Right then, that is it from this game and Afghanistan have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. There is however one more game left and one side will be looking for redemption while the other will be looking for a clean sweep. The 3rd ODI will be played at the same venue on Tuesday, the 11th of July at 1.30 pm IST (8 am GMT). Our coverage though will begin a lot sooner. Do join us then. Take care and goodbye!
Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghanistan skipper says that he is very happy with the win and was a great performance by the team. Adds that the openers batted brilliantly and was hard for the new batters coming in. The bowlers were not up to the mark in the previous series but we worked on it and the results are for everyone to see. Closes by saying that he has the confidence in his team to do well going forward.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his mammoth ton. Gurbaz starts by thanking the almighty. He says that in the last few games, his performance wasn't good and is happy that the captain and coach supported him and he was able to do well. Adds that the plan was to take a bit of time and read the conditions before shifting gears. Mentions that credit goes to Ibrahim Zadran for the way he played and adds that he is a very good player and wishes him the best of luck.
Litton Das, the captain of Bangladesh says that they won the toss and elected to bowl but the bowlers failed to take advantage and gave away a lot of runs. Credits Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for the way they batted. Adds that the batters had to get stuck and not give wickets in the powerplay. Mentions that wickets in hand always give the upper hand to chase the huge total. Closes out by saying that they will hope to come back stronger in the next game.
The Presentation ceremony...
Earlier in the game, Litton Das won the toss and put Afghanistan into bat first which proved to be a horrible decision. The pitch looked good and the Afghan openers put in a mammoth stand of 256 runs for the first wicket with Rahmanullah Gurbaz playing a sensational knock of 145 runs in just 125 balls. Bangladesh did come back into the game once they got Gurbaz out but Ibrahim Zadran too to a century and a cameo from Mohammad Nabi took the visitors to 331 runs. For the hosts, four bowlers picked up a couple of wickets each but only went for less than run-a-ball. Coming to the chase, Afghanistan dominated with the ball and sealed a big victory.
Two back-to-back under-par performances at home from Bangladesh, a sight that we don't witness often and this loss to Afghanistan is the only time they have lost a home ODI series to a team other than England since 2016. The opening pair flopped once again and the middle order couldn't do much either. Only Mushfiqur Rahim played a solid knock as he notched up 69 runs off 85 deliveries before getting out and unfortunately, it wasn't enough to take his side to over the 200-run mark. A big margin of loss and they will now look to bounce back in the final ODI.
Ebadot Hossain will not come out to bat and that will be that. Afghanistan with a stellar all-round performance and they have sealed the three-game ODI series with a game to spare. After putting 331 runs on the board, all they needed were a couple of early wickets and they got more than that. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled brilliantly in the first Powerplay and that allowed the visitors to control the game. Rashid Khan then came in and got a couple of quick wickets to press the advantage even further. They did have a bit of a tough time breaking the stand between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehidy Hasan but were well ahead in the game. Once they did manage to break it, they sealed the deal.
In over# 44
0W
1lb
Fazalhaq Farooqi 22/3(7.2)
43.2
W
OUT! CAUGHT! All over for Bangladesh! Short of a length delivery, around off. Rahim looks to pull this out of the park but does not get it all as the ball lands in the hands of Mujeeb at the deep mid-wicket fence. Ebadot Hossain is injured and will not come out to bat. Afghanistan win by a huge margin of 142 runs and clinch the series 2-0 with a game to go.
A slight halt in the play as Mustafizur Rahman gets struck on the helmet. The physio is out to perform a mandatory concussion check and everything seems fine.
43.1
1lb
Bangs it short and around the middle stump line. Rahman looks to pull but misses and takes a blow on the helmet. The ball lobs up toward backward square leg and the batters cross for a leg bye. The physio is out in the middle to have a mandatory concussion test. Rahman looks fine and is set to carry on.
In over# 43
1
1
0
0
0
0
Rashid Khan 28/2(9)
42.6
1
Wrong'un, around off. Rahman goes back and knocks it to long-off for one.
42.5
1
Full again, outside off. Rahim drives it uppishly through covers for one.
42.4
.
Fuller this time, driven to mid-off.
42.3
.
Tad short and outside off. Rahim chops it to point.
42.2
.
Googly, at the stumps. Rahim makes room and cuts it to backward point.
42.1
.
Full on off, driven back at Rashid.
In over# 42
0
4
1wd
1
0
1
1
Fazalhaq Farooqi 22/2(7)