Rashid Khan once again led his nation to a victory after they beat Bangladesh by 45 runs in the first T20I of three-match T20I series at the new cricket stadium Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (Dehradun). On Sunday night, Afghanistan scored 167/8 in 20 overs while Bangladesh was bowled out for just 122 runs (19 overs).
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan decided to field first after winning the toss. Afghan openers Mohammad Shahzad and Usman Ghani started very well as they put 62 runs partnership for the first wicket. Ghani was dismissed on 26 runs while Shahzad stretched his innings to 40 runs.
While the skipper Asghar Stanikzai stayed in the crease till the last over and scored 25 runs off 24 balls, Najibullah Zadran (2 runs) and Mohammad Nabi (0 runs) were dismissed for cheaply. In the late of the innings, Samiullah Shenwari (36 runs off 18 balls) and Shafiqullah (24 runs off 8 balls) played some quick-fire knocks to secure a good total on the scoreboard.
That innings was finished with a sixer from Rashid Khan (6 runs off 2 balls) as Afghanistan managed to put 167/8 on the board at the end of 20 overs.
Among the Bangladesh bowlers, Mahmudullah (2/1) and Abul Hasan (2/40) got two wickets each while Abu Jayed (1/34), Rubel Hossain (1/32) and Shakib Al Hasan (1/19) picked up one wicket each.
In reply, Bangladesh lost their experienced opener Tamim Iqbal (0 runs off 1 ball) on the very first delivery of that innings. Their wickets were falling in the regular intervals as Bangladesh was bundled out for just 122 runs in 19 overs.
Liton Das scored the highest runs in that innings which was 30 runs. Mushfiqur Rahim (20 runs) and Mahmudullah (29 runs) were the only other Bangladeshi batsmen to reach the 20-run mark.
Rashid Khan was once again the best bowler among the Afghanistan bowlers as his bowling figure was 4-0-13-3. It was his 31st T20I where he completed his 50 T20I wickets after dismissing Mushfiqur Rahim.
With that wicket, Rashid Khan became the joint second fastest bowler to claim 50 T20I wickets. While the Sri Lankan off-spinner Ajantha Mendis has a record to achieve this feat in just 26 T20Is, South African leggie Imran Tahir also achieved this feat in 31 T20Is.
Meanwhile, Rashid Khan (52 wickets) also the second Afghan bowler to claim 50 or more T20I wickets while Mohammad Nabi (63 wickets) was the first Afghanistan player to achieve that feat.
While Rashid Khan got the Player of the Match award, Shapoor Zadran (3/40) took the three wickets and Mohammad Nabi (2/21) picked up two wickets. Also, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1/20) and Karim Janat (1/27) claimed one wicket each.
