Bangladesh remains in the competition after snatching a narrow three-run victory against Afghanistan at Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) in the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2018.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza decided to bat first after winning the toss. In the initial stage of the innings, Bangladesh was struggling against Afghanistan bowlers as they lost their first two wickets on just 18 runs.

At next, the opener Liton Das and the no.4 batsman Mushfiqur Rahim rescued the team from that difficult start and provided a 63-run partnership for the third wicket.

When Bangladesh seemed to get stronger, they lost back-to-back two wickets in the same over (19th over) as Liton Das (41) and Shakib Al Hasan (0) were dismissed. Soon, Rahim (33) also lost his wicket through the run-out after a poor mix-up as Bangladesh went down to 87/5.

Also read: Mushfiqur Rahim’s dismissal divides the cricket experts

From there, Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah saved the team with the brilliant 128-run partnership for the sixth wicket that settled the team for a respectable and fighting total. Kayes remained unbeaten on 72 runs off 89 balls (6 fours) while Mahmudullah scored 74 runs off 81 balls (3 fours and 2 sixes) before getting out. Those innings helped Bangladesh to score 249/7 at the end of 50 overs.

Among the Afghanistan bowlers, Aftab Alam (3/54) took three wickets while Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1/35) and Rashid Khan (1/46) got one wicket each.

In reply, Afghanistan opener Ihsanullah (8) and the no.3 batsman Rahmat Shah (1) lost their wickets at the early stages as Afghanistan went down to 26/2.

Another opener and the wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad and the no.4 in-form batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi rescued the team with the 63-run partnership for the third wicket. After Shahzad was dismissed on 53 runs off 81 balls (8 fours), Shahidi and the skipper Asghar Afghan provided another 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Shahidi completed his third consecutive ODI half-century while the skipper Afghan scored 39 off 47 balls (2 fours) before getting out. Shahidi scored 71 runs off 99 balls (5 fours) before the Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza bowled him and completed 250 ODI wickets.

Later, Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari provided another crucial and fast 46-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Nabi was dismissed on 49th over after scoring 38 runs off 28 balls (2 fours and 2 sixes) while Rashid Khan was dismissed on the last over on just 5 runs.

In the final over, Afghanistan needed to score 8 runs to win the game but the Bangladeshi left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman held his nerve and conceded only four runs as Bangladesh won by three runs in that thrilling contest (Afghanistan 246/7 in 50 overs). Shenwari remained not out on 23 off 19 balls (only four and only six).

Among the Bangladesh bowlers, the skipper Mashrafe Mortaza (2/62) and Mustafizur Rahman (2/44) grabbed two wickets each while Shakib Al Hasan (1/55) and Mahmudullah (1/17) picked up one wicket each. Mahmudullah won the Player of the Match award for his crucial contributions both with the bat and ball.

With this result, India secured their spot in the final of Asia Cup 2018 while Afghanistan’s final chance has been lost. Pakistan and Bangladesh will face each other on Wednesday (September 26) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) where the winner will advance to the final of this tournament and will face India once again in the final on Friday (September 28).

Brief Scores: Bangladesh – 249/7 in 50 overs (Mahmudullah 74, Imrul Kayes 72*; Aftab Alam 3/54)

Afghanistan – 246/7 in 50 overs (Hashmatullah Shahidi 71, Mohammad Shahzad 53; Mustafizur Rahman 2/44)

Result – Bangladesh won by 3 runs

Important stats highlights of the match:

• Bangladesh batsman Mushfiqur Rahim (5,026 ODI runs) completed his 5,000 ODI runs. He is the third Bangladesh batsman to score 5,000 or more ODI runs. The first two Bangladesh batsmen to achieve this feat were Tamim Iqbal (6,307 ODI runs) and Shakib Al Hasan (5,482 ODI runs).
• Bangladesh batsmen Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah provided a very important 128 runs partnership for the sixth wicket. It is Bangladesh’s highest ODI partnership for the sixth or lower wicket. The previous record was 123* between Al Sahariar and Khaled Mashud for the sixth wicket against West Indies at Dhaka on October 8, 1999.
• Bangladesh batsmen Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah provided a crucial 128 runs partnership for the sixth wicket. It is the second highest partnerships for the sixth or lower wicket in the Asia Cup history (only ODI formats). The record is the 164-run partnership for the sixth wicket between the Afghanistan batsmen Asghar Afghan and Samiullah Shenwari against Bangladesh at Fatullah on March 1, 2014.
• Bangladesh scored 249/7 in 50 overs. It is their fourth-highest total in the Asia Cup history (only ODI formats) outside the Bangladesh soil.
• Bangladesh pacer and skipper Mashrafe Mortaza (250 ODI wickets) completed his 250 ODI wickets in this game. He is the first Bangladesh bowler and 17^th overall pacer to pick up 250 or more ODI wickets.
• Bangladesh won this ODI by just 3 runs. It is their joint smallest victory (by runs) in the ODI history. Earlier only once, Bangladesh had won an ODI by 3 runs and that was against New Zealand at Dhaka on October 17, 2010.
• Afghanistan lost this ODI by just 3 runs. It is their joint second smallest defeat (by runs) in the ODI history (Earlier, Afghanistan lost by 3 runs in an ODI against Zimbabwe at Harare on February 21, 2017). Their smallest ODI defeat (by runs) was just by 2 runs against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo on March 6, 2018.