Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets, become 1st team to reach Super 4 of Asia Cup 2022

Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets in Sharjah on Tuesday to confirm their passage into the Super 4 stage of Asia Cup 2022. Ibrahim Zadran's unbeaten 42-run knock, alongside Najibullah Zadran's 43-run effort, helped the Afghanistan side to chase down the required total with 9 balls to spare. 

Earlier, the Bangla Tigers had been restricted to a total of 127/7, courtesy of three-wicket spells from both Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. 

With the win, Mohammad Nabi's side becomes the first team to confirm their place in Asia Cup 2022, Super 4 stage, as they will finish at the top of group A. As for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the two sides will face off on September 1 to decide who joins Afghanistan in the next round. 

What a win!

Things went right down to the wire but AfghanAtalan led by the Zadran duo of @iamnajibzadran 43* (17) & @IZadran18 42* (41) hold their nerve to beat @BCBtigers by 5 wickets

With this win, we are into the top four teams#AfghanAtalan | #AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/rQXjWe4d7K

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 30, 2022

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After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Bangladesh batters couldn't get going for most part of the innings on a dusty pitch, which had a fair amount of grip and turns.

The Afghanistan spin twins Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/16) and Rashid Khan (3/22) bowled tight length and lines and spun their webs in the powerplay and in the middle overs respectively.

When Mahmudullah (25 off 27) got out in the 15.4 overs, Bangladesh were 89-6 and it looked like they'd even fold for under 100. However, Mosaddek Hossain's 31-ball 48, and Mehidy Hasan's 12-ball 14 helped Bangladesh in some form of recovery and led them to a respectable total of 127/7 in 20 overs.

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Chasing a respectable target, Najibullah Zadran (43 not out off 17) and Ibrahim Zadran (42 not out off 41) played fantastic knocks and led Afghanistan to a convincing win in 18.3 Overs, with seven wickets in hand.

Apart from Najibullah and Ibrahim, Hazratullah Zazai also played a crucial knock (23 off 26). Mosaddek Hossain (1/12), Shakib Al Hasan (1/13), and Mohammad Saifuddin (1/27) were the wicket-takers for Bangladesh.

With inputs from IANS