Afghanistan became the first team to qualify for 2022 Asia Cup Super 4 contest after trampling Sri Lanka and then thrashing Bangladesh by seven wickets.
Tuesday’s Asia Cup match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh ended in a seven-wicket victory for Afghanistan thanks to some excellent spin bowling and a spectacular cameo from Najibullah Zadran.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/16) and Rashid Khan (3/22) of Afghanistan’s top spinners destroyed a reckless Bangladesh batting order to reduce the opposition to 127.
Najibullah’s aggressive 43 not out off 17 balls, which included six sixes, drove his team over the finish line in 18.3 overs.
Read more: Fitness issues of Pakistani cricketers have become a major issue in 2022 Asia Cup
Here are the 2 Squads
Bangladesh Squad: Mohammad Naim, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Afif Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon
Afghanistan Squad: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi(c), Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Samiullah Shinwari, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afsar Zazai, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Usman Ghani, Noor Ahmad
Afghanistan Beat Sri Lanka in The Opener
In a previous Group B Asia Cup match on Saturday, Afghanistan chose to bowl and dismissed Sri Lanka for a meagre 105. Bhanuka Rajapaksa led Sri Lanka with a score of 38 from just 29 balls, and Chamika Karunaratne added 31. Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the opening match of the 2022 Asia Cup thanks to an exciting all-around effort.
For Afghanistan, Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/11), Mohammad Nabi (2/14) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/24) combined for seven wickets.
In the Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 Stage, Afghanistan is most likely to play against Pakistan, and will be looking to get world cup revenge, if Pakistan managed to defeat the Hong Kong which is set to play on Friday, 2nd September.
