Shoriful stars with the bat and ball as Bangladesh beat Afghanistan to clinch series

Nurul Hasan Sohan bowed his head in respect to Shoriful Islam. Not for his bowling, but for the boundary through mid-on off the first ball of the final over by Azmatullah Omarzai. That four stopped the heartbeats racing and delivered the taste of a series win.

In Sharjah, Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan by 2 wickets in the second T20I. With this thrilling win, they secured the series with a game to spare. This is Bangladesh's first-ever series victory against Afghanistan on foreign soil.

The target was 148 runs. In the first match, chasing 152 had caused enough nervous moments. Just like the other night, Sohan was the dependable figure again. But the batting display has hardly improved — the less said, the better.

The openers, who had provided a century stand in the first match, fell cheaply this time. Both Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Parvez Hossain Emon managed only 2 runs each, undone by Azmatullah Omarzai. Saif Hassan tried to steady things with a four and a couple of sixes, but he too departed for 18 off 14 balls.

In tough conditions, Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain Patwary set about building a partnership. Promoted up the order, Jaker was intent on returning to form and struck two sixes. Shamim, in comparison, was more aggressive. Their 56-run stand for the fourth wicket made victory seem inevitable. But trouble soon followed.

Afghan skipper Rashid Khan trapped Jaker lbw to break the stand. The Bangladesh captain scored 32 off 25 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. Shamim was progressing nicely with Sohan, but could not resist an ambitious shot. Attempting an unnecessary reverse sweep against Noor Ahmad, he was bowled for 33 off 22 balls (3 fours, 2 sixes).

In the 17th over, Nasum Ahmed (10) fell to Rashid, while in the 18th over Mohammad Saifuddin and Rishad Hossain were dismissed by Omarzai, raising real fears of defeat. But those were dispelled by smart batting from Sohan and Shoriful, who sealed victory with 5 balls to spare. Sohan remained unbeaten on 31 off 21 balls with 1 four and 3 sixes.

Shoriful, the surprise package, contributed 11 runs from 6 balls with 2 boundaries. Earlier, he had bowled brilliantly, conceding only 13 runs in 4 overs while taking 1 wicket — a performance that earned him the player-of-the-match award. Remarkably, he had not been in the XI for the first match. Like him, Saifuddin also came into the side.

Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib were rested, yet Bangladesh's bowling maintained its discipline. Having been put in to bat, Afghanistan managed only 147 for 5. Ibrahim Zadran top-scored with 38, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz made 30.

For Bangladesh, Rishad Hossain and Nasum Ahmed picked up two wickets each. Rishad was expensive, giving away 45 in 4 overs, while Nasum conceded just 25. Saifuddin went wicketless but was economical, allowing only 22 runs.

Bangladesh have only once whitewashed Afghanistan in T20Is — at home in 2023. In Sharjah, Jaker, Shoriful and company now have the chance to do it again in the final match.