Captain Shakib Al Hasan top-scored with 70 as Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by four wickets in the first of two Twenty20 matches. The world’s top all-rounder hit eight fours and one six in his 45-ball knock as the Tigers reached their target of 139 with one over to spare.
Afghanistan made 138-7 from their 20 overs, with Hazratullah Zazai’s 47 the top score while fellow opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz made 29. However, it was not enough as the hosts timed their run chase to perfection in Chittagong.
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Mushfiqur Rahim was the only other Bangladesh batsman to make any significant contribution with 26 as five of his team-mates fell for single figures before Afif Hossain clubbed an unbeaten 19 down the order. In scoring his 70, Shakib became the leading run-scorer for Bangladesh in T20Is.
He now has 1,567 runs and was delighted to play his part in the victory, saying: “If you look at the last few months, we haven’t been up to the mark in T20s. We’re working on it. “The bowlers bowled well on that wicket. It needed someone to bat through the innings and luckily today it was my day.”
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