Afghanistan whitewashed Bangladesh 3-0 in the T20I series as they pipped their opponents by one run in the third and final match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Thursday.
With the match going to the final delivery of the thrilling match, Afghanistan held their nerves to dish out a fantastic bowling and fielding show as Bangladesh missed the target by whiskers.
Chasing the 146-run target, Bangladesh were once reeling at 35/3. However, Mushfiqur Rahman (46 off 37) and Mahmudullah (45 off 38) played a fighting knock to take their side to the edge of victory before missing the target by just one run.
Earlier, a combined effort by top and middle order batsman helped Afghanistan post a fighting 145/6 in the allotted 20 overs.
Afghanistan leggie and the new cricketing sensation Rashid Khan was adjudged “Man of the series”, while Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur was chosen as the “Man of the Match”. Rashid bagged eight wickets in the three-match series with an exceptional economy of 4.45, averaging 6.12.
After this historic whitewash victory, Rashid thanked the crowd for their support at Dehradun and expressed his happiness by saying, “Quite happy with the performance, and the best part is that we won. I’m focused on looking at the positives, and thankfully it worked out for me. The ball was gripping a little, and if I bowled in the good length area, it was turning quite a bit. I just try to bowl googlies and leg-breaks and enjoy the game, and enjoy every ball I bowl. In the last one year, I have tried to stay fit, and improve upon my fitness, which has changed everything. I have managed to contribute in the field, with ball and bat. Thanks to the crowd for coming out here and supporting us.”
Further, captain Stanikzai also acknowledged the local crowd and added, “It was a great preparation for the Test (against India). If you can beat a Test playing team even in T20, it automatically increases the morale. The boys did really well. When the team is in form, everything seems to go really well. Thanks to the CM. I thank the crowd who made the ground beautiful and I really appreciate the noise you made in this series.”
With inputs from IANS
