Gurbaz ton trumps Mahmudullah's 98 as Afghanistan clinch ODI series 2-1
Gurbaz secured his eighth ODI century, hitting seven sixes and five fours in his 120-ball innings of 101, while Omarzai’s determined performance saw him strike three fours and five sixes in a match-winning 70 off 77 deliveries, guiding Afghanistan to a series-clinching triumph.
Despite a setback, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mahmudullah Riyad's resilience kept Bangladesh in the match, and their batting provided a competitive total. Bangladesh also started well with the ball. However, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azmatullah Omarzai built an impressive partnership, displaying powerful batting and guiding Afghanistan toward a memorable series win.
Later, Omarzai, with the composed support of Mohammad Nabi, secured an excellent victory for their team.
On Monday, in the third and final ODI of the series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Dubai, Bangladesh lost to Afghanistan by five wickets. With this win, Afghanistan claimed the series 2-1, marking their third consecutive ODI series victory.
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This was also their second ODI series win against Bangladesh. Last year, Bangladesh lost to Afghanistan in a series at home for the first time. This loss marked Bangladesh's fourth consecutive series defeat across all formats.
After winning the toss, Bangladesh opted to bat. Despite a sudden collapse after crossing 50 runs, Miraz and Mahmudullah's partnership helped Bangladesh recover. Miraz's half-century and Mahmudullah's near-century led them to a total of 244 for eight wickets. In reply, although Afghanistan lost three wickets before reaching 100, they never felt in danger.
Gurbaz's century and the partnership with Omarzai kept them on track for victory. Following Gurbaz's dismissal, Omarzai and Nabi's batsmanship sealed the win for Afghanistan in 48.2 overs.
In their chase, Afghanistan's opening pair contributed 41 runs. Before being bowled by Bangladesh's debut pacer Nahid Rana with an excellent delivery, Sadiqullah Atal scored 14 runs off 18 balls. Mustafizur Rahman quickly ended the second partnership, dismissing Rahmat Shah and then Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.
At 84 for three, Afghanistan found themselves slightly under pressure, but Gurbaz, who scored his eighth ODI century, held one end firm. With responsible batting, he and Omarzai added 100 runs for the fourth wicket. Gurbaz eventually scored 101 runs off 120 balls, with five fours and seven sixes, before falling to Miraz.
A few moments later, Nahid Rana dismissed Gulbadin Naib, putting Afghanistan under some pressure. Omarzai was then joined by the experienced Mohammad Nabi, and the duo steered Afghanistan smoothly towards the target. They put together an unbeaten 58-run partnership in 48 balls, securing the series win.
Omarzai played a brilliant innings of 70 runs off 77 balls, including three fours and five sixes, while Nabi remained unbeaten with 34 runs off 27 balls, hitting five fours. Debutant Nahid Rana and Mustafizur Rahman took two wickets each for Bangladesh, and Miraz claimed one.
Earlier, Bangladesh got off to a good start with the bat, with openers Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Soumya Sarkar putting on 53 runs in 8.3 overs. However, their departure triggered a batting collapse, as Bangladesh lost Soumya, Tanzid, Zakir Hasan, and Tawhid Hridoy in quick succession, reducing the score from 53 to 72.
Soumya scored 24 off 23 balls, hitting three fours, while Tanzid made 19 off 29 balls, also with three fours. Zakir, returning to the playing XI after over a year, was run out after scoring four off seven balls. Hridoy, who had shown impressive form earlier in his career, continued his recent poor run and departed for seven off 14 balls.
After the top-order collapse, Miraz and Mahmudullah took on the responsibility to stabilise the innings. Leading for the first time, Miraz played with caution initially, supported well by Mahmudullah, and they succeeded in lifting the team's score.
Miraz eventually scored 66 runs off 119 balls, Bangladesh's third-highest debut innings score as captain. Najmul Hossain Shanto tops the list, having scored 76 runs in his captaincy debut, followed by Aminul Islam Bulbul with 70.
After Miraz's departure, Mahmudullah fought on alone, displaying a brilliant innings and battling until the last ball. He was on the verge of his fifth ODI century but was run out for 98 while attempting a second run off the final delivery.
He scored 98 off 98 balls with seven fours and three sixes. Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai was Bangladesh's main challenge, taking four wickets for 37 runs in seven overs—his career-best performance. Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan took one wicket each.
