In a thrilling Group B clash of the Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Bangladesh posted a competitive 154/5 against Afghanistan on Tuesday. Young opener Tanzid Hasan stole the show with a fiery half-century, helping his team recover from early caution to set a challenging target.
Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat first, and their openers Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hassan wasted no time lighting up the powerplay. The duo started slow, picking up just eight runs in the first two overs without a single boundary. But Tanzid exploded in style, smashing four boundaries off Fazalhaq Farooqi’s over to shift the momentum. Saif Hassan jumped in too, launching a massive six against AM Ghazanfar and following it with a crisp four off Azmatullah Omarzai.
The fun peaked in the final powerplay over when Tanzid took on Ghazanfar again, hitting two huge sixes for 19 runs. By the end of six overs, Bangladesh sat pretty at 59/0, giving fans plenty to cheer about in this T20 Asia Cup match.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan finally broke through in the seventh over, bowling Saif for a well-made 30. Bangladesh skipper Litton Das then partnered Tanzid, but Afghanistan tightened things up with two maidens. Tanzid shook off the pressure, though, blasting a six over deep backward square-leg to race into the 40s. At the 10-over mark, Bangladesh had reached 87/1.
Right after the drinks break, left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad struck gold on his first ball, trapping Litton Das lbw with a tossed-up delivery. Litton tried a sweep but missed, and Afghanistan’s review confirmed the decision—three reds on the umpire’s call. The skipper walked back early for a duck.
Tanzid kept the fire burning, reaching his half-century off just 28 balls. He then smashed Noor for another six to push Bangladesh past 100 in the 13th over. But Noor had the last laugh in that same over, dismissing Tanzid for 52—a knock packed with three sixes and four boundaries. New batters Shamim Hossain and Towhid Hridoy stepped up to rebuild, with Shamim cracking two fours off Rashid in the 14th over and another boundary against Noor. By the 15th over, Bangladesh were 119/3.
Rashid Khan struck again in the 16th over, removing Shamim for 11 to keep a lid on the scoring. Omarzai joined the party in the 19th over, getting rid of Hridoy for 26. Jaker Ali and Nurul Hasan chipped in with 12 runs each to guide Bangladesh to 154/5 in their 20 overs.
Afghanistan’s spinners shone bright—Rashid Khan claimed 2/26, while Noor Ahmad finished with impressive figures of 2/23—to pull things back after Bangladesh’s explosive start.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 154/5 in 20 overs (Tanzid Hasan 52, Saif Hassan 30; Noor Ahmad 2/23, Rashid Khan 2/26) vs Afghanistan.
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