Bangladesh Survive Rashid Khan Scare to Take Series Lead

News Desk

Islamabad: For more than half the evening in Sharjah, Bangladesh looked destined for a routine win. A century stand between Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Parvez Hossain Emon had flattened Afghanistan’s attack and put the visitors on the brink of a comfortable chase.

But when Rashid Khan has the ball in hand, the script is rarely allowed to run as planned.

The Afghan captain very nearly pulled off one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent T20I history. With four wickets in a spell of sorcery, Rashid ripped through Bangladesh’s middle order and transformed what had seemed a foregone conclusion into a nerve-shredding contest.

From 109 without loss, Bangladesh staggered to 118 for six, the swagger of their openers replaced by panic and silence in the dugout.

For a few overs, Sharjah belonged to Rashid. His flight, guile, and relentless accuracy had Bangladesh gasping for air. Noor Ahmad piled on the pressure with a wicket of his own, and suddenly Afghanistan were scenting an improbable victory from nowhere.

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Yet cricket, as often, had one final twist. Out came Nurul Hasan and Rishad Hossain, calm in the eye of the storm. With the target slipping away, they steadied themselves, refusing to be intimidated by Rashid’s magic or Afghanistan’s intensity.

Timely boundaries from the pair dragged the equation back within reach, before Nurul sealed the chase in emphatic style—two sixes in two balls, the finishing blow that ensured Bangladesh snatched a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

A chase that nearly went wrong

The numbers told a story of control early on. Chasing 152, Bangladesh’s openers were measured to begin with—just 14 runs in three overs—but once settled, they began to unfurl. Parvez punished Mohammad Nabi with a pair of sixes, Tanzid followed with strokes of authority against Noor Ahmad, and together they raised fifties that made the contest appear done and dusted.

At halfway, Bangladesh were cruising at 95 without loss. The Afghan shoulders sagged, and the game seemed to drift away. But Fareed Ahmad’s dismissal of Parvez gave Rashid the crack he needed. Within minutes, that wide-open gap was a gaping hole, Bangladesh’s procession suddenly turned into chaos.

Afghanistan’s fighting total

Earlier, Afghanistan’s 151 for nine had been a patchwork effort stitched together after early jolts. Ibrahim Zadran’s boundaries offered a brisk start, but wickets at regular intervals left them tottering at 33 for three in the powerplay. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, with his fluent 40, held things together, but when he fell with five overs left, the innings threatened to unravel.

It was Mohammad Nabi’s late counterattack that changed the complexion. Three sixes in the 18th over lit up the Afghan innings, while Sharafuddin Ashraf’s cameo ensured they dragged themselves beyond 150—a total that looked inadequate at the halfway stage of Bangladesh’s chase, but almost turned into gold when Rashid weaved his magic.

Rashid’s brilliance, Nurul’s nerve

In the end, the night belonged to both Rashid and Nurul—one for his dazzling four-for that threatened to steal victory, the other for the composure that denied him. Cricket’s charm lies in such contests of temperament versus talent, chaos against calm.

Bangladesh took the series lead, but only after surviving a Rashid-inspired scare that reminded them that no target, however modest, is safe when the Afghan maestro is in rhythm.

The series now moves forward with Afghanistan wounded but defiant, and Bangladesh aware that one man’s spell alone can undo even the best-laid chase.