Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Match 3 Full Commentary

Welcome back for Afghanistan's reply with the bat. If Afghanistan are bowled out before 120, Bangladesh will face them in the finale. But if they cross that mark, it will send Zimbabwe into the final. The players of Bangladesh spread to the field. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran are the two Afghan openers. Taskin Ahmed has the new ball and is raring to go. Gurbaz is on strike. Off we go...

... The Run Chase ...

Finale confirmed - Afghanistan already had one foot in the final, but with an under-par target of 161, they will back themselves to get the job done without any hiccups. Their batting unit, unlike Bangladesh's, has been in some fine form of late. For Bangladesh, though, it is an uphill task. To keep their final hopes alive, they must win by at least 41 runs, which, in all honesty, looks like a tall order. But they will surely not go down without a fight. Back in a bit with the run chase.

Rashid, the tormenter - However, just when Bangladesh looked to be finding their feet again, Saif Hassan pressed the self-destruct button against Nabi, throwing caution to the wind in search of a big hit and gifting his wicket away. One mistake soon became two, as Miraz departed cheaply, and in the space of a few deliveries, Bangladesh went from 121/4 to 124/6. Rashid was brought back for another spell, and he just kept twisting the knife with his guile. And eventually, Emon, who was fighting all alone in the middle, too, got consumed by his brilliance. From there, it was only a matter of time before Bangladesh were skittled for 160.

A gut-punch, then a fightback - A Powerplay score of 38/4 with the top order blown away told the story of Bangladesh's collapse. The top order simply had no answers to the movement and pressure, with Afghanistan's frontline attack front-loading Omarzai and Ahmadzai, who turned the screws relentlessly. Blow after blow landed, the runs dried up, and Bangladesh were left gasping on a surface that offered the bowlers plenty. Just when it seemed like the innings was sinking without a trace, Parvez Hossain Emon and Saif Hassan threw Bangladesh a lifeline. The pair took the spinners on with calm heads, refusing to force the issue and choosing survival over risk. With Rashid, Nabi and Ghazanfar choking the flow of runs, boundaries were hard to come by, but the two dug in and refused to buckle, forming a resilient 93-run stand.

A quick chat with Azmatullah Omarzai - Omarzai says that they are satisfied with their bowling performance and mentions that Yamin bowled really well, and he just tried to build a bowling partnership with him. On the difference in the surface from Abu Dhabi, Omarzai tells that they knew the Sharjah wicket is slower, and they tried to keep the stumps in play and offer no room to the batters.

Total domination - Turns out that it was a great toss to lose for Afghanistan, all in all. Their bowlers ran rings around the Bangladeshi batting unit with a professional bowling performance, hunting as a pack and never once letting the pressure slip. Rashid was once again the standout with the ball, snaring a spectacular four-wicket haul to back up his four-for against Zimbabwe. It is a sorry-looking scorecard for Bangladesh. Apart from Emon and Saif, not a single batter managed to cross 20, which only deepens their recurring batting woes, struggles that show no sign of ending anytime soon.

Mustafizur Rahman is the last batter in for Bangladesh.

Has that been taken? Does seem like it, and Mohammad Nabi is the gift that just keeps giving, even at this age. Actually, the third umpire is called in to have a look. Nabi reacts sharply to his left at first slip but the ball bobbles out before Nabi manages to somehow pluck it with his right hand. OUT!

Time for Powerplay 3. Afghanistan can now have a maximum of five fielders outside the inner ring till the end of the innings. They will aim to restrict Bangladesh below 200.

That's a massive blow for Bangladesh at a very wrong time. They needed Emon to hang in there till the end, but it wasn't to be. Taskin Ahmed is in at number 10.

Then there were two - Well then, we are down to just the summit clash of this short tri-series as Afghanistan have knocked out Bangladesh, which also secures a spot for Zimbabwe in the final. The final will be played on Friday, October 23, here in Sharjah between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, beginning at 11.30 am GMT. As usual, you can also join us a lot sooner for the build-up. Cheers!

Lastly, the winning captain of Afghanistan - Rahmat Shah says that looking at the target and the wicket, they just tried to spend time at the crease, score runs, find the boundaries and rotate the strike. He feels that was one of the reasons they won the match without losing any more wickets. He adds that when you are at the crease, it is about building a partnership. Details that they kept supporting each other, rotated the strike, and looked for opportunities to attack when they could. On his own batting, Rahmat says he absolutely enjoys his batting whenever he goes out to the middle. He tries to rotate the strike rather than always looking for boundaries, waits for loose deliveries, and feels the longer he stays at the crease, the more pressure he can put on the opposition.

Let's now hear from Bangladesh's skipper - Towhid Hridoy starts by admitting that they are committing the same mistakes time and again, and early wickets cost them big time. Hridoy says that they can discuss strategy later on, but for now, they are disappointed. Adds that, heading forward, they can take a lot of learnings from this series, tweak a few things, and do well in the future as they have an upcoming Asia Cup at home. Hridoy ends by mentioning that the wicket was completely fine to bat on, and they have only themselves to blame for the lack of runs on the board.

Player of the Match - Rashid Khan is given the award for his stellar spell of 4/31 in 8.2 overs. Rashid Khan says it feels great on how things are going for him of late especially in the ODIs. He says he has really enjoyed his consistency with line and length, something he has been working towards, and calls it a huge pleasure to play for and perform for the national team. He adds that the more important thing for him is to stay consistent against any opposition and win games for the team. On what has helped him improve, Rashid says it is all about practice. He feels the hard work put in at the nets carries into the game, and stresses the need to always practise with a purpose and a plan to improve and work on different skills. When it is game time, he says, he has to be as accurate and consistent as possible. On the wicket of Emon, Rashid says Emon was playing really well at that time and getting his wicket was very important. He feels cricket is always about timing, and that you have to wait for your moment, and if you do not get a wicket in the first spell, you might get it in the second or third. He says it was all about staying calm, and also praises Nabi's catch as something very special. On the team's preparation for the upcoming big events, Rashid says it has been great so far, with a couple of good games and a good series against Ireland before that. He feels the preparation has been amazing and says the team just needs to keep things natural, go out there and express their talent. There is no need to do anything different, he says, and they need to keep playing positive cricket for as long as possible. On the final, Rashid calls it a big game but says they just need to know their strengths and play according to them.

The Presentation ceremony...

The skipper stands tall - With just 161 needed for the win, Afghanistan lost a couple of wickets inside the first 7 overs. However, Ibrahim Zadran looked unfazed, and Rahmat Shah came out and took control of the game. Bangladesh had to keep their opponents down to 119 or less to qualify and the bowlers upfront, especially Taskin Ahmed, bowled their hearts out. However, Shah stood tall like a rock and built up a couple of game-clinching partnerships - first with Zadran, and then with former skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi - taking his side over the line with ease. Shah remained unbeaten on 67, also making it 6 wins out of 6 since taking over as Afghanistan's ODI skipper.

Bowlers laid the foundation - After being asked to bowl first, Afghanistan started wonderfully, and it was Yamin Ahmadzai who went bang-bang early on, picking up two wickets off two balls. Azmatullah Omarzai followed it up with a couple of quick wickets of his own, and Bangladesh were in a real fix. Saif Hassan and Parvez Hossain Emon fought hard, and the latter even went past fifty. However, Saif's poor choice of shot allowed Afghanistan back, and Rashid Khan picked up the last four wickets in a short space of time to bundle out Bangladesh for just 160.

Afghanistan storm into the final - Yet another comprehensive win for Afghanistan, and they head into this tri-series final unbeaten and hardly even tested. As for Bangladesh, their road ends here, after a couple of hefty defeats against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, both of whom will now face each other in the final.

It seems like the ball has gone out of condition and the umpires are having a look at it. With just one more over left before choosing one of the two balls for the remainder of the contest, the fourth umpire comes out with a box os used balls and one of them is selected to be used in this over.