Watch: Bangladesh won a thriller against Afghanistan to keep their Asia Cup qualification hopes alive.
Bangladesh stay alive in Asia Cup with thrilling win
Tuesday's face-off was a must-win game for Bangladesh, in order to keep themselves in contention for a spot in the Super Fours. After Litton Das won the toss and chose to bat, openers Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan took Bangladesh to 59-0 by the end of the Powerplay, before Saif fell for 30 in the seventh over.
Tanzid went on to make 52 off 31 balls, the highest score of the innings as spinners Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmad put the squeeze on in the middle overs. The three combined for 4-66 in 10 overs as Bangladesh eventually posted 154-5, a competitive if slightly underwhelming total.
Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed took the new ball, and trapped Sediqullah Atal lbw with his first ball. He struck again in the powerplay to remove Ibrahim Zadran, and Afghanistan were struggling at 27-2 in six overs.
Bangladesh continued to strike at regular intervals; Rishad Hossain accounted for Gulbadin Naib and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the space of two overs, before Mustafizur Rahman got rid of Mohammad Nabi to leave Afghanistan 77-5 in 13 overs.
Match 9, Bangladesh vs Afghanistan
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Azmatullah Omarzai threatened with 30 off 15 balls, before holing out off the bowling of Taskin Ahmed. Rashid Khan also gave Bangladesh a scare with 20 off 10 as the game got close, but Mustafizur did him in with a slower delivery. After Rashid was dismissed, Afghanistan were 132-8, needing 23 off 10 to win. Mustafizur then struck again to remove Allah Ghazanfar.
Afghanistan needed 22 off the last over, and Noor Ahmad did his best with two sixes, but it wasn't enough as they fell eight runs short. Their fate remains in their own hands now, though a win over Sri Lanka will take them through but a loss will see Bangladesh qualify alongside the Lankans instead.
Watch: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Asia Cup 2025 highlights
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