Rashid Khan (four for 12) continued to weave his magic around Bangladesh batsmen. Samiullah Shenwari (49 off 41, 2x4, 3x6) held the Afghanistan innings together. And all-rounder Mohammad Nabi (31 n.o., 15b, 3x4, 2x6) played the finisher’s role to perfection.
The triumvirate made the home team’s task much easier as Afghanistan sealed the three-match T20 series against Bangladesh at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Chasing a target of 135, Nabi’s cameo ensured Afghanistan crossed the line with seven balls and six wickets to spare. With Shakib Al Hasan persisting with spin till the 18th over, it looked like the Dehradun crowd would witness for a nail-biting finish.
Nabi in a hurry
But the moment Rubel Hossain came on to bowl his last over, Nabi finished the match in just five balls, hitting the paceman for two sixes and as many fours.
The seasoned all-rounder ended the match in style with a huge six over long-on.
Earlier in the evening, Bangladesh chose to bat first in an attempt to put the Afghanistan spinners under pressure. However, for the second time in three nights, and led by Rashid’s accurate and effective bowling, the Afghan spin trio stifled the Bangladesh batsmen.
The three spinners shared combined figures of six for 46 for in their 12 overs.
Unlike in the first match, Rashid was introduced only after the halfway stage. It was his third over that did the damage.
He got rid of the dangerous Mahmudullah, Shakib and sheet anchor Tamim Iqbal (43 off 48, 5x4) in the 16th over, with the last two dismissed off consecutive deliveries.
Bangladesh, which had banked on Tamim to finish the innings on a high, just couldn’t recover mustering only 31 runs off the last four overs.
Nazmul Islam gave Bangladesh an ideal start as the left-arm spinner bowled two successive maiden overs at the start of the innings.
However, none of the Bangladesh bowlers could pose serious threat to the Afghanistan batsmen.
The scores: Bangladesh 134 for eight in 20 overs (Tamim Iqbal 43, Mushfiqur Rahim 22; Rashid Khan four for 12, Mohammad Nabi two for 19) lost to Afghanistan 135 for four in 18.5 overs (Samiullah Shenwari 49, Mohammad Nabi 31 n.o.; Mosaddek Hossain two for 21).
