Afghanistan outrightly dominated Bangladesh to win the second ODI match by 142 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Saturday, July 8. In the process, Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Speaking about the match, Litton Das made the call during the toss and decided to field first.
What followed was sheer domination by the Afghanistan opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. The pair swiftly hit the ground running, getting the boundaries and maximums with ease.
In just 89 balls, Gurbaz and Zadran combined to raise a 100-run partnership which kept Afghanistan well in control of the contest.
Gurbaz then shifted gears and notched up his century off 100 balls which featured eight fours and six sixes.
While the Bangla Tigers failed to break the vital partnership, Gurbaz and Zadran added a 200-run stand, putting Afghanistan in the driver’s seat. Zadran too got his century off 118 balls, cracking one six and nine fours.
However, his magnificent knock came to conclusion by Mustafizur Rahman, who took two scalps in the contest. Meanwhile, the rest of the Afghan's batting unit failed to stay too long in the crease and were dismissed for paltry scores.
Gurbaz continued his stellar knock and scored 145 runs off 125 balls featuring 13 fours and eight sixes which helped Afghanistan attain 331 runs in their 50 overs. In reply, Afghanistan extended their domination as they got the wickets at regular intervals to leave Bangladesh reeling.
The bowling unit operated in tandem to land the blows as Mujeeb Ur Rahman got three wickets whereas Fazalhaq Farooqi and Rashid Khan got two wickets each. Down the middle order, keeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim put on a show as he tried to bail his side out of the precarious situation.
With little to no help coming from the rest of the batting unit, Mushfiqur pretty much had the onus to see his side through to the finish line. However, with the required run rate making a sharp rise coupled with the regular fall off wickets, Mushfiqur too succumbed under pressure and was dismissed for a score of 69 off 85 balls.
With this, Afghanistan restricted Bangladesh to a paltry 189 runs, winning the second ODI by 142 runs.
Source: CricTracker
BDST: 1249 HRS, JULY 9, 2023
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