Afghanistan is also fighting hard in chasing the target of 245 runs given by Bangladesh in the unwritten final in Sharjah. Till this report they have scored 110 runs for 3 wickets in 24 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz remained the thorn in the neck of Bangladesh. This left-handed opener is unbeaten on 63 runs off 72 balls. Azmatullah Omarzai is batting with him for 11 runs.
Chasing a challenging target, the Afghans scored 41 runs in the opening pair. Debutant Nahid Rana gave Bangladesh a great break-through by bowling Sedikullah Atal (14) in the seventh over. Then Mustafizur Rahman returned Rahmat Shah (8) for 63 runs and Hasmatullah Shahidi (6) for 84 runs.
Before that was a great start in the opening pair, then a collapse, a fifth-wicket struggle between Mahmudullah Riyad and Mehdi Hasan Miraj—courtesy of which Bangladesh chased down Afghanistan by 245 runs in the series decider in Sharjah.
Mahmudullah felt some regret even after bringing the team to a great state. Panni's fifth ODI century for 2 runs. Yet the 38-year-old Mahmudullah fought like a youngster and played till the last ball. Mirage scored his fourth ODI fifty. After more than a year, he got a fifty again against those Afghans. Miraz-Mahmudullah was the last to score an ODI fifty in the World Cup last year. Bangladesh scored 344 runs for 8 wickets.
Both the teams have won one each in the previous two matches. Bangladesh-Afghanistan 3rd ODI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium is therefore 'unwritten final'. Bangladesh received bad news in the morning before the final. Regular captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto has been sidelined with a groin injury. Miraj is leading Bangladesh in this match. This all-rounder won his 100th ODI match for the first time in international cricket.
Miraj decided to bat first. Bangladesh also got a good start in the opening pair. The opening pair of Soumya Sarkar and Tanjid Hasan Tamim added 53 runs in 8.3 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai gave the team a break-through by bowling Soumya in the third ball of the ninth over. Soumya scored 24 runs off 23 balls with 4 fours. Another opener Tamim also caught Shahidi at cover-point off the first ball of the tenth over by Mohammad Nabi. 19 runs off 29 balls from his bat.
In the 11th over, Zakir Hasan got a chance to replace Shant after being run out. After a year in ODIs, Zakir scored 4 runs off 7 balls. Bangladesh lost the fourth wicket for 72 runs. Like the previous two matches, Tawheed Hriday failed with the bat in this match as well. He was the victim of Rashid Khan for 7 runs.
Bangladesh fell into a fairly difficult disaster in the spin attack of Afghans. Rashid-Gazanfar's magic is to pick up the bat! However, with the test of experience and mental fortitude, Miraj and Mahmudullah made a great pair of 145 runs off 188 balls in the fifth wicket.
Miraj fell victim to Omarzai in the 46th over. In the first match of the leadership, he had to take the lead in disaster. Scored the fourth fifty of his ODI career with 106 balls. He returned to 66 runs off 119 balls in the end. There were 4 fours in the innings. Zaker returns for 1 run. However, Mahmudullah fought until the end.
Mahmudullah played an extraordinary innings of 98 runs off 98 balls with 3 sixes and 7 fours. 3 runs were needed to score a century from the last ball of the innings. But he got run out while taking the second run. Among the Afghan bowlers, Omarzai took 3 wickets, Nabi and Rashid took one wicket each.
