Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by five wickets in the third and final ODI of the series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The game took place on Monday, 11 November. With this win, Afghanistan wrapped the series up 2-1. This was the third consecutive series win for the country. They looked very dangerous in these conditions that favour attacking gameplay. Bangladesh won the second ODI of the series. Yet, they could not come to terms with the Afghanistan players in the final game and were blown away by the challenges set for them.
Batting first, Bangladesh were restricted to a par total of 244-8 in their quota of 50 overs. This is the first point where they felt that they could have done better. Despite having players from the Soumya Sarkar class, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, and Tanzid Hasan, in their ranks, they could not quite punish the Afghanistan bowlers for their mistakes and were rolled over. Ultimately, it took a fighting 98 from veteran Mahmudullah to prop up the total for the Tigers.
For Afghanistan, all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai starred with the ball in hand and caused immense trouble for the Bangladeshi batters. He returned with figures of 4-37 in his seven overs and was responsible for picking up the wickets of Sarkar, Miraz, Ali and Nasum Ahmed. In reply, Omarzai scored a brilliant 77-ball 70 not out with the bat to help his team get over the line and defeat their opponents by five wickets. He came in to bat when his team struggled at 84-3, and steered his team comfortably.
Opener and star batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the star for Afghanistan thanks to his 120-ball 101 at the top of the order. It was due to his and Omarzai’s efforts that Afghanistan could cruise to a big win. Bangladesh will be heartbroken after this defeat and wondering where to improve. Top batters Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi were sent back into the hut early by the Bangladeshi bowlers. Still, they could not get Omarzai’s wicket, which hurt them deeply.
Seamer Nahid Rana was one of the standout performers for Bangladesh with the ball in hand. He returned with figures of 2-40 at the end of his ten overs, conceding just four runs per over. The experienced Mustafizur Rahman, too, chipped in with two wickets of his own by conceding 50 runs in nine overs. Unfortunately, it was not enough to tilt the game in his team’s favour. Omarzai was named the player of the match for his performance in this game, while the veteran Mohammad Nabi was awarded the player of the series for his consistent showings in all three games.
