T20 warm-up: Bangladesh suffer 62 runs defeat to Afghanistan

Bangladesh suffered an embarrassing 62-run defeat against Afghanistan in their first official warm-up match ahead of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2022 at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane, Australia on Monday.

Bangladesh top-order- Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, and Shakib Al Hasan - failed to come up with the required batting intention when they needed in a chase for 161 runs for victory.

Afif Hossain, who has been playing well in T20Is for a while, suffered the first-ball duck too. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the ‘best’ batter for Bangladesh scoring 16 off 31 balls. In pursuit of 161 runs, Bangladesh were bundled for only 98 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs.

For Afghanistan, pace-bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi bagged three wickets. He once again proved that he is too good for Bangladeshi batters.

Earlier, Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi scored 46 and 41 respectively to propel Afghanistan to 160. Right-arm pacer Taskin Ahmed did well taking three wickets.

Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first in Brisbane. Hazrat Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz added only 19 runs in the opening stand.

But the number three Ibrahim came up with a steady innings and Nabi also did well to post a big total.

For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed bagged three wickets while Shakib Al Hasan and Hasan Mahmud scalped two wickets each.

As the days go by, Afghanistan are strengthening their position as an unbeatable opponent for Bangladesh in the T20 format. While Bangladesh are an ever-struggling side in this format, Afghanistan are, in contrast, a new force to offer a challenge to any country.

Bangladesh will take on South Africa in their second warm-up match on October 19.