Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, Final:

The final match of Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series between Afghanistan and Bangladesh was abandoned due to continuous rain in Dhaka. The weather forecasts proved to be right, as the rain began an hour before the scheduled start of the game, and continued till the umpires called off the game at 9 pm local time.

The crowd was exceptionally hopeful as the stands were almost full because of the crowd by the scheduled start of the final match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan at 6 pm. During the Asia Cup Final three years ago, a storm and heavy rain which lasted for almost an hour did not cause the match to be abandoned but this time it was steady rain which just does not stop that easily.

In this Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series, Afghanistan won two matches and lost two while also losing their record-breaking 12-match winning streak in T20Is. Zimbabwe won one match out of the four matches they played in the tri-series against Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Bangladesh remained the most successful team throughout the tri-series as Bangladesh won three matches while losing only one match in the Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

Below is a short summary of all the matches played in Bangladesh Twenty20 Tri-Series between Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe.

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe, 1st match:

Zimbabwe: 144/5 (18/18 overs)

Bangladesh: 148/7 (17.4/18 overs, target 145)

Bangladesh won the match by 3 wickets with 2 balls remaining.

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first. After a delayed start because of rain, the match was declared to be of 18 overs for both sides. Zimbabwe scored a total of 144 runs at the cost of 5 wickets in 18 overs with Ryan Burl of Zimbabwe scoring an undefeated 57 off 32 balls.

Bangladesh required 145 runs from 18 overs. Bangladesh scored 158 runs at the cost of 7 wickets in 17.4 overs to win the match by 3 wickets with 2 balls remaining thanks to Afif Hossain’s brilliant innings of 52 runs of 26 balls for Bangladesh. Afif Hossain of Bangladesh was awarded the “Player of the Match” award.

Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe, 2nd match:

Afghanistan: 197/5

Zimbabwe: 169/7 (20 overs, target 198)

Afghanistan won the match by 28 runs.

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field first. Afghanistan scored 197 runs at the cost of 5 wickets in 20 overs because of Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 43 off 24 and Najibullah Zadran’s undefeated brilliant innings of 69 runs off just 30 balls.

Zimbabwe could only score 169 runs at the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs but Zimbabwe’s Regis Chakabva played an impressive inning of 42 off 22 and remained not out towards the end of the game.

Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe by 28 runs and Najibullah Zadran of Afghanistan was awarded the “Player of the Match” award.

Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, 3rd match:

Afghanistan: 164/6

Bangladesh: 139 (19.5/20 overs, target 165)

Afghanistan won the match by 25 runs.

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Afghanistan scored 164 runs whole batting first at the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs with Mohammad Nabi scoring 84 runs off 54 balls. Mohammad Saifuddin of Bangladesh took 4 wickets for 33 runs.

Bangladesh was only able to score 139 runs before they lost all of their wickets in 19.5 overs with Mahmudullah being the top-scorer from Bangladesh’s side with his 44 runs off 39 balls. Mohammad Nabi was awarded “Player of the Match” for his 84 runs off 53 balls.

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe, 4th match:

Bangladesh: 175/7

Zimbabwe: 136 (20 overs, target 176)

Bangladesh won the match by 39 runs.

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field first. Bangladesh scored 175 runs for 7 wickets in their 20 overs with Mahmudullah scoring 62 runs off 41 balls. Zimbabwe could only manage to score 136 runs before they lost all their wickets in 20 overs with Richmond Mutumbami scoring 54 off 32 balls towards the end of the game. “Player of the Match” was awarded to Mahmudullah for his brilliant performance with the bat.

Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe, 5th match:

Afghanistan: 155/8

Zimbabwe: 156/3 (19.3/20 overs, target 156)

Zimbabwe won the match by 7 wickets with 3 balls remaining.

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Afghanistan scored 155 runs for 8 wickets while batting first against Zimbabwe. Rahmanullah Gurbaz remained Afghanistan’s top-scorer with this 61 of 47 balls. Chris Mpofu took 4 wickets for Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe scored 156 runs for 3 wickets to win the match by 7 wickets against Afghanistan bringing an end to their continuous losses against Afghanistan in the T20Is. Hamilton Masakadza scored 71 runs off 42 balls in his farewell match for Zimbabwe. Chris Mpofu was awarded “Player of the Match” for his 4 wickets at the cost of 30 runs against Afghanistan.

Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, 6th match:

Afghanistan: 138/7

Bangladesh: 139/6 (19/20 overs, target 139)

Bangladesh won the match against Afghanistan by 4 wickets with 6 balls remaining.

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first. Afghanistan scored 138 runs in 20 overs for 7 wickets with Hazratullah Zazai scoring 47 runs off 35 balls for Afghanistan.

Bangladesh scored 139 runs in 19 overs at the cost of 6 wickets, winning the match by 4 wickets with 6 balls remaining towards the end of the game. Bangladesh’s captain Shakib Al Hasan played an incredible undefeated innings of 70 runs off 45 balls with the help of 8 fours and a six to not only stabilize the batting line up of Bangladesh but to also singlehandedly winning the game with his innings of 70 runs against Afghanistan.