AfghanAtalan have put on a tremendous all-round performance to beat Bangladesh in the third ODI by 5 wickets and complete a terrific 2-1 series victory.
Earlier in the afternoon, Bangladesh won the toss for the 2nd successive time in the series and opted to bat first. Banking on half-centuries from Mohammadullah (98) and the stand-in skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz (66), they went on to post 244/8 runs in the first inning. Azmatullah Omarzai (4/37), Mohammad Nabi (1/37) and Rashid Khan (1/40) chipped in with important wickets to help AfghanAtalan reduce the visitors to below 250.
Azmatullah Omarzay, who returned with outstanding figures of 4/37 in the series decider against Bangladesh, also brought up the milestone of 50 wickets in international cricket.
In reply, AfghanAtalan batted well in their pursuit of 245-run target and chased it down in the penultimate over by 5 wickets to complete a 2-1 series win over Bangladesh.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the star of the batting lineup, who managed to score his 8th ODI hundred for Afghanistan.
He went past the cricketing greats like Sachin Tendulkar (became only the 2nd youngest (22y 357d), Virat Kohli (23 y 027d) and Babar Azam (23y 280 d) and became the 2nd youngest (22 y 249 days) batter after Quinton De Kock (22y 312d) to complete 8 hundreds in Men’s ODI cricket.
Azmatullah Omarzai backed up his 4/37 figures with an even-batter effort with the bat in hand as he scored unbeaten 70* runs off 77 deliveries to take Afghanistan home.
Mohammad Nabi (34*) also provided an excellent finishing touch to the inning and contributed big time in the series victory.
Azmatullah Omarzai was awarded the Player of the Match for his outstanding all-round performance and managed to grab the award for the first time in international cricket.
The Player of the Series award went to Mohammad Nabi his heroic all-round performance in the series.
He scored 135 runs at an impressive average of 67.50, including a crucial half-century (84) to his name and as well as took two wickets in the series with an E. Rate of less than 4.5.
The 2-1 Series win over Bangladesh was Afghanistan’s third successive ODI series victory this year.
They first went past Ireland 2-0 in March, followed by their maiden 2-1 series victory over South Africa and now registering an incredible 2-1 win over Bangladesh.
Afghanistan National Cricket Team will now be gearing up for their all-format tour to Zimbabwe where they will be meeting the hosts in three T20Is, starting on December 9 in Harare, followed by as many ODIs and a two-match test series in Bulawayo.