On Saturday, Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh by 142 runs to win their three-game one-day international series against Bangladesh. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran both got hundreds to lead the way for Afghanistan.
With this triumph, Afghanistan became just the second side in the previous seven years, after the reigning world champions England, to win a One-Day International series in Bangladesh. Additionally, this was Afghanistan’s most convincing victory against Bangladesh in one-day internationals.
After the game, Afghanistan’s head coach Jonathan Trott expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance by telling media, “Obviously very happy with how it’s going, the way they played the shots.” “Having looked at the weather, we had planned to bat first as well… It’s only reasonable given the manner that they played.”
During the post-match presentation, the captain of the Afghanistan squad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, said that his side had turned in an outstanding performance.
I didn’t think the wicket was going to be so easy, but we still managed to put up a respectable total. From the last series, it was clear that our bowlers were not targeting the appropriate locations with their throws. However, each of the players gave up Eid in order to win this series. We were in Abu Dhabi focusing on ourselves. Over the course of the last several years, we have been working to build this squad, and we are becoming better with each series. Shahidi expressed his optimism that his team will do well in both the Asia Cup and the World Cup.
The record-setting opening stand of 256 runs that Gurbaz and Zadran put up helped Afghanistan amass a daunting score of 331 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs.
During his 125-ball stay, Gurbaz hit 13 fours and eight sixes. He was especially destructive in his last 25 balls, during which he hit 45 runs and was responsible for the most of the damage. In the end, he was selected as the game’s most valuable player.
“The pitch was favorable for putting the ball in play. The plan came from the head coach and the team captain. I didn’t have many matches, and I was in a hurry. I didn’t rush through this battle at all. After reading the terms and conditions, things were simpler for me. I believe that some of the credit should go to Zadran as well. According to his performance, he is now in excellent shape, and he is a very talented player. Got a lot of encouragement from him,” said Gurbaz. “I really appreciate that.”