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The second ODI of the white-ball series between Bangladesh and Afghanistan got underway on Saturday, July 8. Notably, Afghanistan clinched an emphatic victory in the game despite rain playing spoilsport throughout several stages of the game, and have taken an unassailable lead in the three-match series 2-0 having won the first game by 17 runs through the DLS method.
Coming into bat after losing the toss, Afghanistan put forth an excellent performance with the bat. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran built a formidable partnership. Gurbaz scored 145 runs in 125 deliveries, with Zadran adding 100 runs to his name in 119 deliveries.
Their formidable partnership helped Afghanistan post a mammoth 331 runs on the board in the first innings for Bangladesh to chase. The Bangladesh bowlers were brought to their knees by the performance of the Afghan openers. Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mehidy Hasan took two wickets each, with Edabot Hossain striking once.
Aiming to chase down the mammoth target, Bangladesh got off to the worst of starts in the run chase, as Mohammad Naim was sent packing for just nine runs. Furthermore, skipper Litton Das only scored 13 runs before he was sent back to the pavilion as well.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts as the Afghanistan bowling attack proved to be too much for them to handle. Najmul Hossain Shanto was dismissed for just one run, with Towhid Hridoy adding another 16 runs to the board.
Mushfiqur Rahim was the highest run-getter for Bangladesh during the run chase, scoring 69 runs in 85 deliveries. Rahim added hope to what turned out to be a futile effort. Mehidy Hasan’s late push of 25 runs only propelled Bangladesh to a total of 189 runs in the second innings.
Winning the game by a mammoth 142 runs, Afghanistan won the second ODI of the series as well and scripted history in doing so. By winning the series, the side completed their magnificent comeback after their humiliating loss in the only Test.
