Afghanistan bounced back from a T20 series defeat to Bangladesh with a commanding five-wicket victory in their first 50-over match of the year.
Abu Dhabi | By Sayer Zaland
All-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai led Afghanistan to a strong comeback as they defeated Bangladesh by five wickets in the opening ODI in Abu Dhabi. The match marked Afghanistan’s first 50-over appearance of the year, following their recent 3–0 T20I series loss to the same opposition.
Omarzai picked up three key wickets before smashing a brisk 40 off 44 balls, guiding Afghanistan to chase down Bangladesh’s 221-run target with 17 balls to spare.
Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi remained unbeaten on 34, while veteran Mohammad Nabi sealed victory with a six off Saif Hassan.
Earlier, Bangladesh were bowled out for 221 in 48.5 overs despite a 101-run fourth-wicket stand between captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz (60) and Towhid Hridoy (56). Rashid Khan starred with the ball, taking 3 for 38, including the prized wickets of Mehidy, Jaker Ali, and Nurul Hasan. The leg-spinner also became the first Afghan to reach 200 ODI wickets, achieving the milestone in just 115 matches, the second-fastest spinner to do so.
Afghanistan’s chase began confidently with Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz putting up a 50-run opening stand. Gurbaz 50 and Rahmat Shah 50 steadied the innings before Omarzai’s explosive cameo shifted momentum firmly in Afghanistan’s favor.
Rahmat’s half-century also made him the first Afghan batter to reach 4,000 ODI runs, underlining a day of milestones for the team.
After their T20 setback, the win provided Afghanistan with renewed momentum in the three-match ODI series and reaffirmed their growing consistency in the 50-over format.
