BAN vs AFG: Rashid slays Tigers to give Afghans a famous victory

The inspirational Rashid Khan, leading Afghanistan for the first time in Test cricket was at his brilliant best to hand Afghanistan a famous win over Bangladesh. Even persistent rains could not dampen the Afghani spirits as they clinched their second-ever Test victory. Bangladesh though played a big role in the defeat, shooting themselves in the foot. Some of the shot selections by experienced campaigners will again raise questions about their temperament to handle tough situations. They ended up tasting a heavy defeat by 224 runs in their own backyard, which will haunt them for a long time.

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Rain, rain, go away!

Heavy rains had lashed the city of Chittagong and images emerged of a drenched outfield at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. The play did get underway, but a drizzle returned to bring a halt in play even before three overs could be bowled. In the end, the ground staff ensured that some play would be possible, setting up an exciting climax to the one-off Test match. The task for Afghanistan was clear. They needed to pick up 4 Bangladeshi wickets and had 18 overs in hand. For Bangladesh, a victory was out of the equation and survival was the order of the day.

Shakib’s blunder

But it seemed that skipper Shakib Al Hasan had forgotten the task in hand. He had earlier questioned the application for some of his batsmen throughout the Test match. But he was the biggest guilty party himself, trying a rash cut shot, the very first delivery after the resumption of play. Zahir Khan, the bowler, must surely have been ecstatic and bemused in equal measures. Afghanistan had their spirits lifted. For Bangladesh, they still had to face the wrath of Rashid Khan.

Rashid shines again

🔥 Youngest captain to win a Test
🔥 Picked up 11 wickets in the match
🔥 Scored a half-century too

What a star, Rashid Khan, who is Player of the Match! pic.twitter.com/9P0jOM1not

— ICC (@ICC) September 9, 2019

It was a task which ultimately proved to be too difficult for them. The skipper trapped Mehidy Hasan on 12, who credit to him, did show some resistance. Between the two wickets, Afghanistan had to wait for a period of almost 9 overs.

Bangladesh still had a recognized batsman in Soumya Sarkar on the crease. But the floodgates soon opened as Rashid ran through the lower order. Taijul Islam was the next to follow. He also found the canny variations of Rashid too much to handle and was given out lbw.

With a minimum of 5 overs left to play, Soumya could not resist any further and fell victim to the skills and guile of Rashid. He tried to defend, but ended up handing a simple catch to Ibrahim Zadran, the short-leg fielder stationed nearby. It was all over.

Rashid was again the star of the show. He picked up 6 wickets in the second innings along with the 5 scalps in the first. There were many other positives for Afghanistan as well. The batting looked much more solid with brilliant performances from Rahmat Shah and Asgar Afghan in the first innings and Ibrahim Zadran in the second. For Bangladesh, it was another big embarrassment. Losing to Afghanistan in their own backyard will be a tough pill to swallow.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 342 & 260 beat Bangladesh 205 & 173 ( Shakib Al Hasan 44; Rashid Khan 6-49) by 224 runs.