Afghanistan Take 1-0 Lead Thanks to Spin Power

Afghanistan Take 1-0 Lead Thanks to Spin Power

Afghanistan vs Bangladesh: Afghanistan secured a 5-wicket victory against Bangladesh to go 1-0 up. Azmatullah Omarzai Is all-round performance, scoring 40 runs and picking up 3 wickets. He helped his team dominate Bangladesh in the first ODI.

Afghanistan won the first ODI against Bangladesh by five wickets, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Their bowlers did a great job, with Rashid Khan (3 for 38) and Azmatullah Omarzai (3 for 40) helping bowl out Bangladesh for just 221. Then, half-centuries from Rahmat Shah and Rahmanullah Gurbaz set up a smooth chase.

Afghan openers started well Ibrahim Zadran hit four boundaries in his 25-run knock, while Gurbaz played calmly but smashed a six off Taskin Ahmed. They reached a 50-run stand in under 10 overs before Tanvir Islam dismissed Zadran.

Sediqullah Atal got out for just five runs, and Bangladesh tried to build pressure with tight bowling from Tanvir and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Afghanistan went 73 balls without a boundary until Rahmat broke the silence in the 21st over and soon reached his fifty. But he was dismissed right after by Tanzim Hasan Sakib. The same happened to Gurbaz, who also got out after scoring 50.

Omarzai and Hashmatullah Shahidi then steadied the innings with a 59-run partnership. Omarzai punished poor deliveries, hitting six fours and a six, including three in a row off Tanzim, before getting out for 40. Shahidi kept rotating the strike smartly, and Mohammad Nabi finished the match with a six, with 17 balls left.

Earlier, Bangladesh struggled with the bat, losing their top three for just 53 runs due to Omarzai’s fiery spell. Towhid Hridoy (56) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (60) added 101 runs for the fourth wicket, mixing caution with smart hitting. Towhid hit clean shots off Nabi, and Mehidy smashed a six off Ghazanfar.

Bangladesh looked set for a score over 260, but a run-out of Towhid triggered a collapse. Rashid Khan returned and struck quickly, trapping Mehidy LBW with a googly for his 200th ODI wicket. He then removed Jaker Ali and Nurul Hasan to finish with three wickets.

Afghanistan bowled 35.5 overs of spin, with Ghazanfar (2 for 55) supporting well and cleaning up the tail. Bangladesh’s lower order didn’t offer much resistance, except for a short burst from Tanvir Islam (11 off 8), who hit a four and a six before being stumped.