Bangladesh vs Afghanistan 2nd ODI, Highlights: BAN beat AFG by 68 runs to level series 1-1 in Sharjah

Rashid Khan is the latest batter to depart. The batter danced down the track to whack Mustafizur however, was holed at long off. Now the game is good as done. It has been a comprehensive bowling performance from Bangladesh there have been a few partnerships but they did held their nerve.

There is not much hope left for Afghanistan in this game. But if at all they do have the slimmest of chances to get to this total Rashid Khan needs to play a blinder of an innings which he is capable of. However, as we update Kharote departs and it is Mehidy Hasan Miraz who bowls an exceptional delivery. 

First, it was Naib who tried to hit Shoriful through covers and was caught and then it was Nabi who failed to read an incoming delivery from Miraz and perished. Once again it is the cluster of wickets that has done the damage. It was three before now it is two. Now it increasingly looks like Bangladesh's game to lose.

Momentum has swung a bit in the last 15 minutes or so here. Nabi and Naib are punishing anyone who does not bowl well. Bangladesh has to be a little careful here as these two players can create some big overs and the boundaries here in Sharjah too or not that long to test the strength of either of the batters. 

One thing noticeable with Bangladesh is that even if there is a wicket their bowling does not seem to have the cutting edge to run through the opposition like a Rashid Khan for Afghanistan and Jasprit Bumrah for India. Yes, it is a good attack but it is a functional attack where all the bowlers are competent to do the job. 

Naib and Nabi are two power hitters Afghanistan relies on time and again consistently and they are in the middle. In the first game when they were in a similar situation it was Nabi who bailed Afghanistan out and it was batting first. Today it is a different challenge for him there is run-rate pressure and Bangla bowlers are bowling very well.

Well, the last 10 minutes is the kind of cricket we can expect in conditions like this. Afghanistan were in the game by their fingernails for a long time and in the last 10 minutes, they have lost three wickets. First, it was skipper Shaidi and then Omarzai, and the latest one was Shah which is the biggest blow in that passage of play who got himself runout. Bangladesh are now right back in it. 

Rahmat Shah danced down the track and whacked Mustafizur through covers to get to his half-century. Excellent innings this from the Afghan number three. He has had his issues initially however, as the innings went on he seem to have adjusted to the pace of the wicket and now has started to play some lovely shots. As we update Hasmutllah departs.

Mehidy is the stand-in captain as Shanto has injured himself and has walked back. Mehidy who has taken over the reigns has brought Mustafizur into the attack. They need a wicket here Bangladesh. There seems to be dew setting in. The longer Afghanistan does not lose many wickets the easier this chase gets as the evening goes on. 

It will be interesting to see when Afghanistan decides they have to start taking their chances a bit more because the run rate is spiking up slowly but steadily. However, on the flip side, we have seen in the first innings given the way runs came at the end Afghanistan will not be much bothered either because of the hitters in their unit. 

Well, well Shahidi tried to dance down the track and hit Mahmudullah over the cow-corner however, missed the ball and Jaker Ali hit the stumps however, to everyone's surprise,, the Afghan skipper made it back well in time. It is bubbling up here nicely. Unless Afghan is happy to keep playing like this we may either see a big over or a wicket around the corner.

Nasum has started well here. His overall ODI career has not been great but he has got hold of the right pace and length immediately. Also, he played a brilliant cameo in the first innings which might add to his confidence. Interesting times for Bangladesh the ball is keeping low and an odd one is spinning. 

Well as it always happens water break does the trick. It was a good shot by Atal however, was an exceptional catch from Mehidy who was fielding at fine-leg inside the ring. It is Nasum the left-arm spinner who has picked the wicket. Nevertheless very good innings from Atal. Shahidi has walked into the middle for Afghanistan.

Mustafizur could be a lot of help in the first game but today it seems like his ball is skidding nicely onto the bat. The Afghan batters have played with a lot more comfort. Miraz on the other hand though is getting some turn but because of the lack of pressure from the other end, Miraz's spell is going in vain a bit at this point. 

Atal is playing a lovely hand here. He is looking temperamentally sound and is taking his chances from time to time. Bangladesh needs to hope and believe that something that happened to them in the first ODI which is the collapse as the ball got older will happen with Afghanistan. However, if the dew does come down things might get easier for Afghanistan.

Miraz has come into the attack and he bowled a brilliant over. There was a delivery that took the edge of Rahmat Shah however, the wicket-keeper dropped the catch and also missed the stumping opportunity. One good sign though the ball is gripping the surface and it will be a big challenge for Afghanistan to deal with Bangladesh spinners. 

Good absorbing cricket thus far. Yes, there have been a few plays and misses but Afghanistan did manage to play some lovely shots. Especially young Atal seems to be a graceful player who is playing some sumptuous shots through the off-side and Rahmat Shah has been always gifted with technique.

Since the wicket, Taskin has got hold of the right lines and right lengths on this wicket. He is bustling through nicely and the batters have a problem here. In addition to the slowness of the surface, the odd ball is swinging. Mind you this is the fourth innings on this wicket and all eyes will be on Mustafizur and how many he might pick tonight. 

Taskin Ahmed who was spraying the ball over has picked up the wicket. He bowled one wide outside off-stump which Gurbaz tried to cut and got the edge straight to first slip. Early breakthrough for Bangladesh and a much-needed one. Rahmat Shah has walked into the middle of Afghanistan he needs to play a good hand here.

Contrary to Afghanistan, Bangladesh has started with seam from both ends and both Shoriful and Taskin Ahmed are capable seamers to swing the ball upfront and pick wickets. However, the latter did not get his line and length right in that opening and would be hoping to improve upon in the next one.

Both the Afghan openers are in the middle and it is going to be a difficult chase for them. We have seen how the pitch plays hence both the Afghan openers have to go all guns blazing against this new ball.

Quite pleased, I think I bowled where I wanted. It's a kind of wicket where I wanted to bowl more wicket-to-wicket. Quite happy with it, would have been great to pick up a couple more wickets but that's part of it. I am happy, where I wanted to bowl, I have been there. (Bowling round the wicket against the left-handed batters) That's something from the last 1.5-2 years I have been working in the nets where I bowl from different angles to the left-handers. And also to the right-handers, I come across the batter, I have been working on that as well in the nets. It's perfect to the left-handers, but (against) right-handers still needs little more time to be more accurate. I feel that creates so many doubts in the mind of the batter and that's the idea behind it to have more skills in the bowling and to keep guessing the batsmen. It's just about making sure you play the right brand of cricket, that's more important than targeting any specific bowler - pacer or spinner. It's more about how you play this game and how you take this game deep. It's not that kind of a wicket where it's very hard to face the spinner. It's still a good wicket to bat on. It's just about making sure you are taking the right decisions at the right time, you're playing the right ball for the boundary and for the singles. That's more important than targeting anybody. If you play those shots that are hard on this wicket, it's going to be costly for us. The more we play with the straight bat, it's better we are going to get the right results.

What a cameo it has been by Jaker Ali. He came in when the chips were down and took Bangladesh over 250. It has been a typical old-fashioned ODI cricket with a lot of ebbs and flows but Bangladesh will be happy with what they got in the end. It will be an extremely tricky chase for Afghanistan and someone needs to play out of their skin to at least get them close to the target. 

We have a slight interruption here. Jaker Ali trying to steal a single got hit by the throw from the mid-on fielder. The physio is out and is having a look at Jaker. He seems to be alright a sigh of relief for everyone on the ground and the Bangladesh team as well because his score a couple more sixes might have a huge impact in the second half of this game. 

Farooqi had a day to forget today. It was not an easy wicket to score runs however, he kept missing his mark and both Jaker Ali and Nasum got hold of his slower ones. Just when it felt like Bangladesh were losing momentum this has been an excellent turnaround and they have got to their illusory 230 mark. 

We are getting to the close of the innings here and it has been a sort of batting effort from Bangladesh which promised a lot and kept tapering off as the innings went on. Again not to say it is a low score or anything but compared to what they were expected to get at the half stage and where they are now better shot selection and temperament were needed. 

Bangladesh needs to be careful here. They don't need to go all guns blazing in this final overs. The wicket will get increasingly difficult for batting in the second innings for Afghanistan. Even if Bangladesh can get to around 220 from here on they will give themselves a fighting chance in this game. 

Well, there is the wicket. Najmul Hossain Shanto just had a change of guard before the over and immediately after that decided to go down the track and hit Kharote out of the ground and was holed out at long-on. Now the challenge begins for Bangladesh. Well, well there is another one and it is Mahamudallah this time and it is an action replay.

Well, there is another wicket. Kharote tossed one up and Hridoy tried to slog-sweep the ball and hit it straight to square-leg fielder. The stage was set nicely for Hridoy to put on a good show however, it seems like he pulled the trigger a touch too early. Mahmudullah has walked into the middle of Bangladesh. 

Runs have increasingly become hard to come by for Bangladesh. Most importantly from Afghanistan's perspective, it is their premium bowlers Rashid and Ghanzafar operating who are doing an exceptional job in this passage. It might be a case from Bangladesh's perspective they get through this spell and go after the seamers later on or other spinners. 

It is the water break once again that does the trick for Afghanistan. Miraz did seem like there was a lapse of concentration from his end but it was a fabulous delivery from Rashid Khan. it was googly which came in sharply to take off the leg-stump bail. Batting is getting extremely difficult as the ball is getting older here. 

We have reached the water break and it has been a shared passage. Though Bangladesh has only lost one wicket in terms of scoring the rate has gone down significantly. However, the pitch also seems to be getting difficult to bat on as the evening goes on. The sheen that was there early also seems to be slowly fading away.

It has been a cautious effort from Bangladesh not to take too many chances against Afghanistan spinners. Hardly there have been any chances taken against them. It has been all about pushing the ball in the gap and getting the runaway. If Bangladesh does play like this for a few more overs they will have a solid foundation to explode. 

Najmul Hossain Shanto gets to his half-century. What a lovely inning this has been from the skipper. He played a few shots in the Powerplay when he came in and once the field was spread he was more looking to rotate the strike and that is the way Bangladesh needs to play on this surface. Shanto needs to go on a make three-digit score here. 

Kharote is the new bowler introduced by Afghanistan. It is the left-arm spinner who has replaced Rashid Khan. Seems like a good old-fashioned left-arm spinner who wants to give the ball a bit of air and drift and beat the batters in the air, unlike many modern left-armers who are more concerned about being accurate and rely on mixing the pace up. 

Bangladesh needs another partnership here. In the first game yes, they looked good until Ghanzafar came back to the second spell and ran through the side. Today they need to be cautious that such things won't happen and to ensure that they have capable batters in the middle both in Shanto and Miraz who will bring calmness to the middle.

Sarkar went onto the backfoot missed a delivery from Rashid Khan and was deemed LBW. After a long chat with skipper Shanto at the other end Sarkar decided not to take the review and walked back. However, on replay it did show that the ball was pitching down the leg-side and review could have saved Sarkar.

We have reached the first water break and it has been Bangladesh's passage so far. The wicket has been excellent for batting. It will be interesting to see how it behaves once the ball gets older and softer. Given the position Bangladesh have got themselves to they need to get at least around 280-300 runs from here on. 

This has been a sloppy start for Afghanistan. Their lengths have been not up to the mark, especially for Farooqi who took the new ball and kept missing his mark. Nabi who came after also looked out of sorts. Apart from Ghanzafar none of the other bowlers have looked like they can contain the Bangladesh batters in the middle.

It has been an interesting tactic from Afghanistan to use spinners with the new ball and once the ball is a little old they tend to bring in their all-rounders who can bowl a bit of seam up in Omarzai and Gulabdin Naib. It just might be those two more comfortable using the ball who have lost a bit of shine to execute their variations. 

We are done with the first Powerplay and the phase has definitely belonged to Bangladesh. They have found a lovely tempo to bat on. Especially Soumya Sarkar who is playing a lovely knock mixing caution with aggression. Shanto on the other hand too is looking in good touch today. Nice platform laid here by Bangladesh.

Najmul Hossain Shanto has started his innings well here. It looks like a better surface than what we have seen for the opening encounter. The ball is coming nicely onto the bat and Shanto is playing some lovely shots around the park. It will be hard work for the Afghanistan bowlers to pick wickets on this one.

Fazlahaq Farooqi has been spraying the all over. Yes, there is not much on offer for him however, the expectation from the skipper would be that he will stick to good lines and lengths but the left-arm seamer either has been too short or way down the leg-side at times which has the job easier for Bangladesh top order early in the game here.

Ghazanfar who picked up six wickets in the last game does it again. It is Tanzid who was looking like he would take the game onto Afghanistan has departed. He could not read the carrom ball and dragged the ball straight to the mid-on fielder. Najmul Hossain Shanto has walked into the middle for Bangladesh.

We are done with the opening. Fazalhaq Farooqi took the first over. There was a slight swing on offer but nothing significant. The pitch has a bright shine around the good-length area it will be interesting to see how that part will behave when the ball is pitched in an around that area upfront. 

The sun is shining bright here in Sharjah. The pitch for the first game was a little two-paced it will be interesting to see how the pitch plays today. Bangladesh have opted to bat first which is a wise decision, especially after what has happened in the first innings.

Unfortunately Mushfiqur isn't available. Rishad misses out, Nasum Ahmed is in.

Restricting them to 240 will be good. Hopefully our top order will do better than the last game. Ghazanfar is a great talent for us. He played the U19s and he was with me for the domestic games as well.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Allah Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first in Sharjah

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Umarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Allah Ghazanfar, Nangyal Kharote, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Tanjid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam

Bangladesh Squad: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Jaker Ali(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed, Zakir Hasan, Nahid Rana

Afghanistan Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Allah Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Ikram Alikhil(w), Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Darwish Rasooli, Riaz Hassan, Noor Ahmad, Abdul Malik, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran

Welcome to our live blog for the 2nd ODI between Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The former decimated the former in the first game. Young spinner Ghazanfar was the man behind the success of Afghanistan and Bangladesh will be hoping to come up with a tactic to limit the opposition in this game.