Dehradun: Rashid Khan (4/12) produced another magical spell of spin bowling Tuesday as Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh by six wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20 series.
Rashid’s haul helped Afghanistan limit Bangladesh to 134 for eight before Samiullah Shenwari (49, 41b, 2×4, 3×6) and Mohammad Nabi (31 n o, 15b, 3×4, 2×6) did a fine job in chasing down the target in 18.5 overs.
Nabi dispatched Rubel Hossain for a four and six to finish the match in style.
Earlier, Rashid ran amok in the 16th over of the Bangladesh innings, sending back Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan (3), a set Tamim Iqbal (43, 48b, 5×4) and Mossadek Hossain (0) to leave Bangladesh gasping at 103 for seven.
Bangladesh, who were 81 for three in the first 10 overs, could only muster 53 in the next 60 balls for the loss of five wickets.
The other spinners Mohammad Nabi (2/19) and Mujeed Zadran (0/15) too did their job as Bangladesh batsmen failed to break the shackles. In all the three spinners gave away only 46 runs in their full quota of 12 overs and that changed the complexion of the game.
Rashid, however, was the best as the Bangladeshi batsmen had no clue about his googly and top-spinners. In the first game also he had taken three wickets. So far he has taken seven wickets in the series at an economy of less than four runs per over – astounding stats indeed.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 134 for 8 (Tamim Iqbal 43; Rashid Khan 4/12, Mohammad Nabi 2/19) lost to Afghanistan 135 for 4 in 18.5 overs (Samiullah Shenwari 49, Mohammad Nabi 31 n o) by six wickets.