Rashid Khan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Asia Cup 2018
Rashid Khan. Credit: Getty Images

It was a stunning performance by the Afghanistan boys at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, as they ran through Bangladesh quite comprehensively by 136 runs to register their second victory of the ongoing Asia Cup 2018. Birthday boy Rashid Khan as often rose to the occasion for his national team.

It is a great moment of pride for Afghanistan to have beaten two established teams in world cricket in their way to Super 4’s. They can pose a serious threat to the opponents in the Super 4’s and will be a team to watch for.

It was a sensational knock of 57 off 42 deliveries by Rashid which propelled Afghanistan to a competitive score of 255 runs. The willy leg-spinner showed his exceptional skills with the bat as he smashed eight fours and a six during breezy innings.

Till then the Bangladesh bowlers were on the mark and had reduced them to 160 for seven.

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Bangladesh was quite disappointing:

Later in the day, the Afghanistan bowlers were quite spectacular and bowled Bangladesh out quite cheaply to register a convincing victory by 136 runs.

Earlier, the Afghans lost two quick wickets pretty early. However, it was Mohammad Shahzad, who held the fort with Hashmatullah Shahidi and shared a partnership of 51 runs. Aggressive Shahzad went for the big shots and lost his wicket to Shakib Al Hasan.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh
Gulbadin Naib celebrates a wicket against Bangladesh as Afghanistan thumped them by 146 runs. Getty Images

He bowled quite brilliantly and bagged four wickets. Shakib pitched the ball in the perfect area and let the batsmen commit the mistakes.

However, it was a great knock by Rashid which changed the complexion of the game. It looked tough for the Afghans to reach a total of 200 runs. However, Rashid in the company of Gulbadin Naib played a great knock propelling Afghanistan to a highly competitive in these conditions.

Bangladesh was never in the chase. They were always behind the game and was playing catch up for the majority of 50 overs. All of the Afghanistan bowlers were quite brilliant and kept pegging away with the wickets. Yet again Rashid bowled quite brilliantly in the middle overs and bagged two crucial wickets.

Mujeeb-ur-Rahman was quite superb for the 2nd time in the tournament. Gulbadin Naib also chipped in with a couple of wickets. It was a ruthless performance by the bowlers to bowl them out so cheaply.

Asia Cup 2018, Afghanistan vs Bangladesh: It Was a Special Day for Me: Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan raises his bat after scoring a half-century. Getty Images

Here is what Man of the Match Rashid Khan said at the post-match presentation 

“It was a special day for me, and I am really happy as I contributed in batting, bowling and fielding. We have worked hard for this, and we want to continue this form. I wanted to bat till the end and wanted to focus on each and every ball. I had good preparation in the practice session. The way they fielded was amazing. We have been working hard on our fielding as it can win the matches for you,” Rashid said.

 

“It is all about luck in batting and bowling but fielding is one thing that is totally in our hands, and we wanted to get better. I come late to bowl because I can bowl dot balls and put the pressure on the batsmen. I think the wicket changes behaviour here every match, so we look to stay positive in our approach. We don’t want to focus too much on the result. We just want to give our 100% on the field. I want to dedicate this Man of the Match award to ex-chairman of Afghanistan cricket Atif Mashal; he has done a great job for Afghanistan cricket in the past few years,” Rashid concluded.

In addition, for Afghanistan, Rashid Khan will be a man to watch out for against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2018. On the other side, Bangladesh will take on India.

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A Cricket Expert who loves revolving his life around the game. An extremely passionate music lover who loves singing and listening to Arijit Singh songs.