Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Asia Cup 2025 Match 9: Mustafizur Rahman takes 3 as bowlers guide BAN to 8-run win over AFG

Last over and Taskin Ahmed to bowl!! Fazalhaq Farooqi get an edge and he gets 1 run. And Noor Ahmad slaps a SIXXX NEXT!! That's high and that's straight!! 15 off 3 now!! Dot ball and that's that. And that is followed up with another SIX!!! Goes again and he's gone. AFG skittles out for 146. BAN win by 8 runs

And the FIZZ STRIKES IN THE SAME OVER AS Ghazanfar is gone next ball. Unplayable delivery that the tail-ender edges to the keeper!!

AM Ghazanfar c Litton Das b Mustafizur 0(1)

Last 2 overs and AFG need 27 off 12. All down to Rashid. The Fizz to bowl. And another no look shot again and gets a four this time!! AND HE'S GONE THE NEXT BALL!! Big blow for AFG asd Rashid plays the fuller delivery straight into the hands of Taskin Ahmed.

Rashid Khan c Taskin Ahmed b Mustafizur 20(11)

Nasum Ahmed in the attack and that's another gone!! This time it's a run out. Janat cuts it towards point and Nurul Hasan with an acrobatic save and an even better throw that finds Janat out in no man's land.

Karim Janat run out (Nurul Hasan/Litton Das) 6(8)

Mustafizur back in the attack and Rashid has slammed a no look shot!! Just flicks it and that's gone over the ropes for 6!!! Follows that up with 2 runs and another 4!! This time to backward square leg!!

AFG 124/6 after 17 overs

Taskin Ahmed on the attack now and after a couple of quiet overs, Azmatullah smashes a 6!! And goes again but this time he mishits and Saif takes the catch!!

Azmatullah c Saif Hassan b Taskin Ahmed 30(16)

Rishad Hossain will bowl out with this over and starts with a brace. Two dots follow as Janat can't get away. He finally gets a single and Azmatullah can see off this over. 100 up for AFG with that single. 2 singles to end.

AFG 102/5 after 15 overs

Saif Hassan to bowl the 14th over and Azmatullah smashes him for a four and a six in the first two deliveries!! AAAND THAT'S FOLLOWED UP WITH ANOTHER 6!! That has flown over deep square leg!! 20 off this one.

AFG 97/5 after 14 overs

Mustafizur in the attack and back to back dots to start this one off. Nabi finally pushes the 4th delivery for a single now. AND THE FIZZ STRIKES!! That has gone through Naib's defences to rattle his stumps. AFG in deep trouble.

Nabi b Mustafizur 15(15)

Saif Hassan will continue and starts with just 2 runs off the first three deliveries. Nabi on strike now and he has smashed a SIX!!! That was long and high!! Quick running between the wickets get them 2 more.

AFG 75/4 after 12 overs

Rishad Hossain back in the attack and he strikes again!! Gurbaz tries to go for a slog sweep and finds the solitary fielder situated near the ropes!! Huge wicket for Bangladesh!!

Gurbaz c Jaker Ali b Rishad Hossain 35(31)

Saif Hassan in the attack now and Gurbaz smashes him over the ropes for a 6!! No surprise there as he goes after the part-timer. Just that 6 and 2 singles off the over as the bowler makes a decent comeback.

AFG 61/3 after 10 overs

Rishad to bowl the next one and back to back singles before he strikes in the 3rd ball as Gulbadin departs!! Half hearted shot as he pokes it straight to the bowler!!

Gulbadin c and b Rishad Hossain 16(14)

Shamim brought into the attack and Gulbadin and Gurbaz keep rotating strikes. Afghanistan though, will need boundaries at this juncture. And a no ball!! Free hit time. And Gulbadin swings it away into the gap for four!! Aand Gurbbaz ends the over with a six over long off!!

AFG 49/2 after 8 overs

Rishad Hossain brought into the attack now and the umpire now reviews for a run out. But the batter is safe. 1 more off the next two deliveries. 2 more follows as the run rate is creeping up towards 10. BAN won't mind this at all.

AFG 33/2 after 7 overs

Mustafizur to bowl the last over inside the powerplay now and starts with a dot ball before Gurbaz goes off strike with a single. Excellent delivery as that outswinger just misses Gulbadin's willow. And follows it with a four as Gulbadin guides the next ball coming down his leg to the third man boundary!!

AFG 27/2 after 6 overs

Nasum Ahmed in to bowl the penultimate over before powerplay and he strikes!! The umpire gives Zadran LBW and the AFG batter reviews. No bat involved, says UltraEdge. Wickets are umpire's call and Zadran has to walk back.

Ibrahim Zadran lbw b Nasum Ahmed 5(12)

Taskin to bowl the 4th and Gurbaz gets a single to start this one off. Zadran on strike. And he opens his a=ccount with a classy backfoot punch for a 4!!! Takes a single next and Gurbaz will face the last 3 balls. And BANG!!! Gurbaz makes it fly through the covers for another boundary!! 10 from this one.

AFG 18/1 after 4 overs

Nasum Ahmed continues and Gurbaz finally gets a okayish contact to go over long on for a boundary before taking a single to go off strike. Back to back dot follows. Stays that way.

AFG 8/1 after 3 overs

Taskin Ahmed in the attack now and he'll be bowling to Gurbaz. Starts with 3 back to back dots as Gurbaz struggles to get away. A wide now as AFG are finally off the mark. A single next as the first run of the bat comes. Another wide!! Crisp shot by Zadran and he's dropped by Rishad. How costly will that be?

AFG 3-1 after 2 overs

Nasum Ahmed in the attack and Sediqullah Atal will be facing him. AND WOULD YOU KNOW IT!!! HE HAS STRUCK. Raps Atal's pads and the finger goes up. Atal does not review and walks away!!

Sediqullah Atal lbw b Nasum Ahmed 0(1)

On to the last over of the innings and Farooqi will bowl. Starts with a dot before taking 2 off the next ball. Clever shot by Hasan to get 4!! Shuffles and plays a scoop over third man for a boundary!! That's 150 up for BAN. A little break in play as Hasan is getting treatment on his foot. 2 runs to end.

BAN post 154/5

Omarzai in the attack now and he has struck!! Hridoy tries to switch gears and he has played it right into the welcome grasp of Karim Janat!!!

Towhid Hridoy c Karim Janat b Azmatullah 26(20)

Fazalhaq Farooqi back in the attack and yields 2 from the first delivery. Follows that up with 2 more. Hridoy with a single next to put Jaker on strike. He takes 2 more as well as the runs keep flowing.

BAN 139/4 after 18 overs

Noor to bowl his fourth and final over. He'll be bowling to Jaker and starts with a dot before the batter strikes the second ball for a 4!! Goes for the second time but does not get the desired shot before taking a single next. 6 from this one.

BAN 130/4 after 17 overs

Rashid Khan will bowl out with this over. A single to start this one. AND GONE!!! Shamim is caught LBW and the umpire raises his finger. Looked plumb but BAN review. And that's 3 reds.

Shamim Hossain lbw b Rashid Khan 11(11)

Noor will continue and starts with a dot as Shamim swipes and misses. Follows that up with a jaffa which the batter misses. Finally gets the reverse sweep away but just a single. And Hridoy gets a boundary as it just evades Omarzai who couldn't drag the ball back. He's furious with himself.

BAN 119/3 after 15 overs

Rashid Khan back and after a dot, the next ball is guided towards the boundary by Shamim, out of the reach of Farooqui!! Follows it up with another four!! 10 from this one.

BAN 114/3 after 14 overs

On to the 13th and Noor Ahmad in the attack and Hridoy with a slog sweep for a 6!!! 100 up for Bangladesh!! Folows it up with 3 as Tanzid gets strike. AAAND HE'S GONE!! Tries going long and Zadran does not have to move an inch as it goes down his throat!!

Tanzid Hasan c Ibrahim Zadran b Noor Ahmad 52(31)

Ghazanfar brought back into the attack now and gives away 2 runs from the first two deliveries. 1 more run added to the total in the next couple of deliveries. And that's 50 for Tanzid. 7th half century for BAN.

BAN 95/2 after 12 overs

Noor Ahmad in the attack now he shouts for an LBW!!! Umpire says no and AFG review. No bat involved show UltraEdge. And that's 3 reds!! Excellent review!!

Litton Das lbw b Noor Ahmad 9(11)

On to the 10th over and the boundaries have dried up in the last few overs. Nabi will bowl this one. Yields 2 singles from the first couple of deliveries before Tanzid pulls the 3rd ball over backward square leg for a SIX!!! Goes again but it falls just safely for 2 more. 12 from this one.

BAN 87/1 after 10 overs

The veteran Nabi is brought into the attack now and almost a run out but it's not a direct hit so the batter survives!! These are unnecessary risks which BAN can do without after starting so well. Just 5 from this over as AFG spinners are on their way to strangling BAN.

BAN 69/1 after 8 overs

Rashid brings himself in the attack now and starts off with 2 from the first 2 delivery. Gets lucky again with another 2 aaanddd he's gone the next ball!! Saif tries a big hit and he misses it completely and his off stump is gone!!

Saif Hassan b Rashid Khan 30(28)

The last over of the powerplay now and Saif is going on the offensive, scoring 3 from the first 2 balls. And Tanzid goes down on one knee and picks up the ball over the ropes for a 6!!! BAN are purring at the moment. 50 up for Bangladesh. And add 3 more to the total as everything is falling their way now. Already 13 from the over and Tanzid ends the over with a monstrous six!!!

BAN 59/0 after 6 overs

Azmatullah in the attack now and the third ball has hurried the batter with a bouncer with an edge that hits his helmet. Saif is being checked by the physio now as a momentary break halts proceedings. And superb timing by Saif, guiding the ball for a boundary!! 8 from this one as well. Ban maintaining a pretty healthy run rate.

BAN 40/0 after 5 overs

The 19-year-old mystery spinner Ghazanfar has been introduced in the attack. He had a pretty good start to his ODI career but Hassan smashes him over the top for a 6!!! The change at the top of the order has done wonders for Bangladesh here. 8 from the offer ultimately.

BAN 32/0 after 4 overs

Farooqi continues and Tanzid swings and misses the first ball before he gets a huge edge which goes through between the slip and the keeper for a four!! Both the keeper and the fielder are staring at each other as Rashid looks livid. And another edge and another boundary. these will hurt AFG. Big inswinger and it raps Tanzid and Rashid will go for a review now. Looked a bit high though, to be honest. And the wickets are umpire's call. And the over ends with back to back boundaries!!! 16 from this one!!

BAN 24/0 after 3 overs

Omarzai in to bowl the second over and he begins with a wide. Hassan reaches for the next ball and gets to it but finds a fielder. Aaaaaaand picked up off the leg side as Hassan smashes it to the deep backward square region to bring up the first boundary of the match. Gurbaz now shouts for a caught behind buit the bowler isn't keen so no review by AFG. 5 from this one.

BAN 8/0 after 2 overs

Here we go. Straight into live action as Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan Tamim open for BAN. Fazalhaq Farooqi with the new ball in hand and there's an early appeal for an LBW!!! The umpire isn't interested and AFG don't take the review as well. It's been four balls already this over and the BAN batter is yet to get a bat on any one of them. Finally gets a drive away and it's dropped at Omarzai at the cover region!! Just 3 from this one

BAN 3/0 after 1 over

Here come the two sets of players for the national anthems. Bangladesh's first, followed by Afghanistan's. we'll be resuming live action pretty soon.

The same pitch which was used for UAE vs Oman yesterday is being used for this match. So expect a target of at least 140 up if and there's a big if, Bangladesh get going. Afghanistan's pace attack, meanwhile, will have other plans.

'It looks like a good pitch where a few balls will race to the fence like a tracer bullet. It is important to make the most of the powerplay, as the pitch might slow down a bit after. 160-165 would be a good total here, but teams should try to get an extra 10-15 runs towards the death. Important to pace yourself on this pitch. The pitch will turn but we're not expecting too much turn on this surface,' say Ravi Shastri and Russell Arnold

As expected, Bangladesh with a litany of changes with Taskin Ahmed, Saif Hassan, Nasum Ahmed and Nurul Hasan all coming into the team as BAN throw the last dice out of desperation. Afghanistan as expected have fielded an unchanged side.

Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan, Litton Das(w/c), Towhid Hridoy, Mahedi Hasan, Nurul Hasan, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed

Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Litton: We'll bat first. All boys are excited for this game, this is a must win. The wicket looks a bit on the slower side, 160 would be a good total. It looks like a good batting surface. We have four changes - Taskin is coming back. We have three spinners and two pacers.

Rashid: Would have loved to bat first as well, but in T20 it doesn't really matter. Guys had a good off for three days and we got a good practice session. Our strength is our bowling unit, specially spin bowling. We still need to bowl well as a unit and hit the right areas consistently. We need to come out with a positive mindset. Body feels great, looking forward to enjoy. We go with the same team that played against Hong Kong.

We are live for the toss. Litton and Rashid are in the middle. Bangladesh win toss, opt to bat first vs Afghanistan

There have been 94 T20I matches played in the Sheikh Zayed Stadium with teams chasing holding the edge winning 51 times as opposed to teams batting first winning 43 times. The average 1st innings score here is 137 while the average 2nd innings score is 123. The highest total here was 225 scored by Ireland against Afghanistan in 2013. The lowest was 54, scored by the US women's team against Thailand women's team in 2024. The highest score chased here is 174 which was chased by South Africa vs Ireland in 2024.

On the opening day of the Asia Cup, there were three Khans, one Shukla and a Shah on the field. Others around them too had names common in India and Pakistan. From a distance there is nothing to suggest that the team on field is representing Hong Kong China that was up against Afghanistan.

Actually, they could well be confused for UAE or Oman, the two other Expats XIs in the contest with hardly any native players. Inferior skills and amateurish look of players — euphemism for being unfit — further passes off these Asia Cup minnows as identical triplets. And unlike those same-looking new-borns, they don’t look cute. (READ MORE)

The current Asia Cup hasn't had the best of times in maintaining interest with a lot of matches being lop-sided affairs with big teams edging out the minnows. The big ticket encounter between India and Pakistan also turned into a damp squib with the Men in Blue romping to a 7-wicket win. The only drama that took place was at the toss and after the match where the Indian team refused to shake hands with the Pakistan team. This in turn led to PAK complaining to the ICC.

Afghanistan played their first match in this ground and scored 180+ against Hong Kong. Since then, only UAE have managed a big score batting first while the other games had chasing teams coming out on top.

Bangladesh are likely to restore pacer Taskin Ahmed in their starting XI after keeping him benched in the last match against Sri Lanka in favour of Shoriful Islam. Towid Hridoy and Rishad Hossain also haven't looked their best in this tournament which might force BAN to play Saif Hassan or Nurul Hasan in place of the batter and Nasum ahmed in place of the spinner. This might be the las roll of dice for the Tigers so expect them to go all out.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, are expected to go with the same lineup as they did vs Hong Kong in the previous match.

Nilphamari nourishes indigo, not cricketers. The district, where once the British tortured labourers to cultivate ‘Neel’, or blue gold, lies only 356 kilometres north of Dhaka. The journey, though, would take nearly eight hours, cutting through the congested traffic and sinuous roads. Ten kilometres from the district centre is Nijpara, a dot in a speck, home of Bangladesh wrist-spinner Rishad Hossain. (READ MORE)

For now, the only team to have qualified for the Super 4s is India from Group A. Pakistan and UAE will play against each other on Wednesday to be the second team to qualify from this group. Oman have been eliminated already after losing to PAK and UAE.

The battle for Group B is wide open with only Sri Lanka almost sure of the Super 4s. But everything will depend on how the match between BAN and AFG go. If AFG win, both AFG and SL will go through. If BAN win, everything will come down to the last match between AFG and SL. Hong Kong are already eliminated from this group after losing all their 3 matches.

Sep 9: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong, 1st Match, Group B: AFG won by 94 runs

Sep 10: United Arab Emirates vs India, 2nd Match, Group A: IND won by 9 wickets

Sep 11: Hong Kong vs Bangladesh, 3rd Match, Group B: BAN won by 7 wickets

Sep 12: Pakistan vs Oman, 4th Match, Group A: PAK won by 93 runs

Sep 13: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, 5th Match, Group B: SL won by 6 wickets

Sep 14: Pakistan vs India, 6th Match, Group A: IND won by 7 wickets

Sep 15: United Arab Emirates vs Oman, 7th Match, Group A: UAE won by 42 runs

Sep 15: Hong Kong vs Sri Lanka, 8th Match, Group B: SL won by 4 wickets

Sep 17: Pakistan vs United Arab Emirates, 10th Match, Group A

Sep 18: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan, 11th Match, Group B

Sep 19: India vs Oman, 12th Match, Group A

Afghanistan: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Sharafuddin Ashraf

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Litton Das(w/c), Towhid Hridoy, Mahedi Hasan, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Saif Hassan, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Nurul Hasan

Bangladesh and Afghanistan last faced off in the T20 World Cup in the shortest format where in a rain-affected clash, AFG defeated BAN by 8 runs due to the DLS method.

The two sides have faced each other 12 times in history in the shortest format with the Afghanistan team winning on 7 occasions while Bangladesh have come out on top in 5 matches.

In the previous match of this group, Sri Lanka strengthened their bid for the Super 4s when they survived a late scare to defeat Hong Kong by 4 wickets.

Afghanistan have a straightforward road for qualification. They win this match and they are through to the next round along with Sri Lanka. Then the last match between AFG and SL will be to decide who finishes top of the group with BAN and HKG having no chance to catch up with them. But if they lose vs BAN, they have to win the match against Sri Lanka and win it convincingly. In case they lose vs Sri Lanka after losing to Bangladesh, they'll be going back home and BAN and SL will go through. In case they lose against BAN and then win vs SL, all three teams will be on 4 points each and then the NRR will come into play.

In order for Bangladesh to survive, they need to win this match and defeat Afghanistan by a healthy margin. Then they will have to hope and pray that Sri Lanka defeat Afghanistan in the final match of the group stage so that they can qualify as the second team behind Sri Lanka. But in case Afghanistan win vs Sri Lanka, all three teams will have 4 points each and then it'll come down to net run rate.

One day ahead of the match, the Afghanistan team had to endure an injury-related blow with their pacer Naveen-ul-Haq ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury. He'll be replaced by Abdullah Ahmadzai who was a reserve player.

AFG: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi

BAN: Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Litton Das (c & wk), Saif Hassan/Nurul Hasan, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman

Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan in a Group B Asia Cup match with Litton Das-led team's survival on the line. this is their last group stage match and if they don't win this one, they will join Hong Kong in the eliminated teams' list. Afghanistan though have room for error with the Rashid Khan led side still having a match against Sri Lanka in hand. we have an exciting prospect tonight. Will BAN survive or will they be packing their bags to go home. Stay tuned to find out.