Shakib Al Hasan tipped his hat to Najibullah Zadran after the Afghanistan batter’s whirlwind innings handed a defeat to Bangladesh in the Asia Cup.
Najibullah’s knock proved to be the turning point of the match (Courtesy: AP)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Afghanistan beat Bangladesh on Tuesday by seven wickets
- Najibullah’s 17-ball 43 proved to be the turning point
- Shakib felt Bangladesh was in the game during the last six overs
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan tipped his hat to Najibulah Zadran as the Afghanistan batter powered his team to an impressive seven-wicket win on Tuesday.
Al Hasan won the toss and elected to bat first, but the decision came to haunt Bangladesh as Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan picked up three wickets each to dismantle the batting lineup.
Late heroics from Mosaddek Hossain ensured that they ended up with 127 runs in their allotted 20 overs for the loss of seven wickets.
Afghanistan got off to a slow start as the Bangladeshi bowlers ensured that the runs were in check and Mohammed Nabi’s men needed more than 60 runs in the last six overs.
However, Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah turned the game on its head, with the latter smashing a 17-ball 43 to ensure that Afghanistan chased down the target with nine balls to spare.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, as quoted by Cricbuzz, the Bangladesh skipper showered praise on their opponents and said that the game was always going to be tough after losing four wickets in the first seven to eight overs.
Al Hasan said that Bangladesh felt they were in the game for the first 14-15 overs and praised Hossain as well. He said that they knew Najibullah was a dangerous batter and tipped his hat to him. He also said that teh Bangladeshi team felt they could win the match when Afghanistan needed more than 60 runs in the last six overs.
“It is always tough when you lose four wickets in the first seven to eight overs. We were in the game for the first 14-15 overs. Credit to Afghanistan. In a T20 game, whoever is standing up for the team should it take it till the end. Mosaddek played well but we needed more contributions. We knew Najibullah is a dangerous batsman. We thought we had the game when they needed 60 odd in the last 6 overs. But credit to Najibullah,”said Al Hasan.
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