Ispahani ODI Series 
Bangladesh VS Afghanistan 
2nd Match Played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium Chattogram On 25 February 2022
Bangladesh 306/4 (Liton K Das 136, Mushfiqur Rahim 86, Shakib Al Hasan 20, Farid Ahmed 2/56) beat 
Afghanistan 218 All Out In 45.1 overs (Najibullah Zadran 54, Rahmat Shah 52 , Taskin Ahmed 2/31 , Shakib Al Hasan 2/38 ,Shariful Islam 1/35)  by 88 Runs. 
Bangladesh Lead The Three Matches Series 2-0 
Player Of The Match : Liton K Das 

Brilliant strokes full 136 by Liton Das, equally impressive 86 by Mushfique led Bangladesh posting imposing 306/4 batting first. Then Taskin Ahmed (2/31) bowling fast and furious led Bangladesh attack in strangling Afghanistan to 216 all out. 

Bangladesh winning big by 88 runs wrapped up the series 2-0 with a match to explore another series whitewash. With 100 points from 14 matches Bangladesh now tops the ICC ODI Championship League. This also brightened the possibility of Bangladesh qualifying directly for the ICC ODI Championship 2023 scheduled to be played in India. Earlier Bangladesh won the first match by 4 wickets through the heroics of Afif and Mehedy on 23 February 2022. 

By March 2023 each team would play 8 series (4+4) against other at home and on tour. Almost half of that is already done. Bangladesh achieving 100 leads the pack 5 points clear of England. Achieving a series whitewash would take Bangladesh all clear. Bangladesh would soon play 3 series against South Africa and Ireland on tour and England at home. Congratulations Bangladesh for reaching the peak for the time being. A series whitewash would also place Bangladesh in a comfortable position for a direct qualification in the ICC World Cup Championship 2023 scheduled to be held in India.

ICC ODI Super League Points Table.  Top 10 Teams (25/02/2022) 

New Zealand, not on the list has an opportunity in the matches at hand to get into the mix.

Present Series: 
We wrote after the first match on 23 February that 4 wickets win through brilliant batting by youngsters Afif and Mehedy would inspire Bangladesh for greater gains. The team chemistry completely changed. Yesterday batting first Bangladesh lost captain Tamim (struggling a little now with his form) and Shakib a bit too early. But Liton (136) started impressing everyone with every stylish strokes he played and majestic Mushfique (86) was at his brilliant best. The two putting on 202 in the 3rd wicket partnership batted Afghanistan out of the game. They were in such superb touch that three world-class spinners Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi bowling 24 overs among them could manage just 1 wicket giving away 123 runs. Liton scored his runs striking 16 fours and 2 sixes. Mushfique’s innings contained 9 strikes across the fence. Afghans bowling and fielding was pretty ordinary. 

Chasing 307 for a win against a very potent Bangladesh attack at this moment was a tall order. Bangladesh bowlers taking wickets at regular intervals kept them in check. Ramat Shah (52) and Nazibullah Zadran (54) adding 89 in the 4th wicket partnership threatened a bit for a while. Taskin bowling at pace seamed and bounced. He removed both with beauties. Shoriful and Shakib also bowled brilliantly. Afghans failed to challenge Bangladesh score and got bundled out for 218 in 45.1 overs conceding a 88 runs defeat. Bangladesh wrapped up the series. Bangladesh can check the bench strength a bit in match three keeping the nucleus of the team intact. 

BDST: 1240 HRS, FEB 26, 2022
SMS