Live report - Afghanistan's chance to go top in Group B

Bangladesh held on for a win in the first real nail-biter of the Asia, as they held firm against Afghanistan to secure an 8-run win, and with it keep their hopes of qualification alive.

It was a defence begun from the very first delivery, as Nasum Ahmed trapped Sediqullah Atal lbw off the first ball in the innings. It signalled the start of a powerplay that would see just 27 runs scored for the loss of two wickets.

And from that point on, Bangladesh's bowlers led by their excellent spin contingent strangled the chase through the middle overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz tried to play through the innings, but he fail straight after the drinks break and that really signified the downward spiral of the Afghan innings.

Nasum ended up finishing with figures of 2 for 9, while Rishad Hossain - whose only blip was dropping Ibrahim Zadran in the second over - finished with 2 for 18. Taskin Ahmed, recalled to the XI, picked up two as well, but the pick of the bunch was the evergreen Mustafizur Rahman with his 3 for 28 - including some pivotal overs at the death.

It was a team effort that ensured Bangladesh were able to defend a total that seemed perhaps around 20 runs short, after Afghanistan's excellent bowling through the middle and at the death hauled Bangladesh in following a blistering powerplay led by Tanzid Hasan, who ended with a 31-ball 52. It was an innings that secure Tanzid the player of the match award, and one that in hindsight likely proved the difference between the two sides on a surface that was not the easiest to bat on.

Mustafizur might have one of the most thankless tasks in all of T20I cricket, but my word doesn't he deliver. He frequently bowls the final over of the powerplay, and then is called on at the death - precisely what he was asked to do today.

In that context his figures of 3 for 28 are quite outstanding. Here he picked up the last real power hitter in the Afghanistan side, as Rashid Khan chipped one straight to Taskin at short third. Rashid had been threatening a late heist with a few powerful blows, but the Fizz more often than not delivers; the penultimate over of the game went for just five. It meant Afghanistan were left needing 22 off the final over.

Rashid Khan struck the third ball he faced for a no-look flicked six over fine fine leg. It was a shot of supreme confidence but also intent - we're not out this game yet, it seemed to say. A couple of balls later he slapped one behind point. Suddenly 14 had come off the over and the equation had dropped to 31 needed off 18.

But then on the first ball of the next over Karim Janat cracked one to the left of extra cover and set off for the run. It's a brilliant bit of fielding though to save at least a couple, but more importantly it's enough to spook Rashid, who had taken a couple of steps before turning back. But by then Janat was already halfway down the track, as one half of the last recognised pair had to depart.

Afghanistan lost half their side when Mohammed Nabi chopped one on from Mustafizur. What's more that over went for just two runs, and it meant the required rate shot up to 11.14 an over.

To put that in context, Afghanistan had managed that run rate for precisely two overs in their entire innings. two overs out of 12. At the end of that 12th over, Afghanistan's win percentage had dropped to 15.72%, but cricket - and T20 cricket in particular - is fickle.

Enter Azmatullah Omarzai and his long, powerful levers. A powerful drive through extra cover, another monster loft over long-off and huge heave over midwicket later, and suddenly one over later Afghanistan are 20 more runs to the good.

The next over saw Karim Janat on strike, and so it was a quiet one. But with Taskin back into the attack in the next, Omarzai went after the bowling again. Another massive six deposited over square leg took him to 30 off 15, but his next attempt over the offside ended up being skied, as Saif Hassan made no mistake.

As drinks came on the field the required run rate had snuck beyond nine - 9.4 to be exact - but Afghanistan would have felt they have the hitters to claw back even more precarious deficits, not to mention Rahmanullah Gurbaz out in the middle as a set batter.

Well, that equation has changed considerably, with Gurbaz finding deep backward square leg with an aerial sweep. He had struck a few calculated boundaries to alleviate the pressure being built by the spinners, but the required rate has been climbing steadily.

It's Rishad Hossain that strikes, his second wicket of the innings. Two wickets for 13 from his three overs so far.

Game on! That's certainly what Bangladesh will be thinking after a dream powerplay in which they gave away just 27 runs and picked up two wickets - Sediqullah Atal and Ibrahim Zadran. At the heart of this display has been slow left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed.

His first over, the first of the innings, was a wicket maiden with Atal trapped lbw first ball. His second over included one boundary but went for only five runs.

And off the first delivery of his third over he struck again, as another arm ball reaped dividends with Ibrahim caught on his crease. It was reviewed by the batter, but replays showed umpire's call on whether the wickets were being hit.

Ibrahim had struck 5 off 12, and no doubt Rishad Hossain, who had dropped him earlier, would have been the most relieved man on the field.

Nasum Ahmed was drafted into the lineup in a surprising move that saw Mahedi Hasan miss out. Then he was given the new ball, another somewhat unexpected play. A wicket off his first delivery, followed up by five more dot deliveries, and Bangladesh will be pleased to say the least with how this particular gambit has panned out.

Also, what's the deal with Bangladesh and wicket maidens?!

And it could have been even better, but Rishad Hossain let one pop in and out at backward point after a hard slash from Ibrahim. How costly will that prove to be?

A wicketless powerplay at a shade under 10 an over allied with a Tanzid Hasan 52 off 31 gave Bangladesh the ideal platform, but Afghanistan’s death overs mastery ensured that Bangladesh would be restricted to 154 for 5 in Abu Dhabi.

The spin twins of Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan were exemplary once again, with the pair sharing four wickets among them, while going for just 49 runs in their combined eight overs.

Their impact meant Bangladesh struggled to effectively utilise the platform afforded them by a strong opening stand worth 63. Saif Hassan, drafted in for this game struck 30 off 28, but it was Tanzid who really propelled the early stages.

Of his first 12 deliveries, half went to the boundary, and he brought up his seventh T20I fifty off just 28 deliveries. At the halfway stage Bangladesh were well set on 87 for 1. But the middle overs proved to be their downfall as the Afghan spinners took control of proceedings.

Four wickets were lost for 65 runs through the middle overs period, while just 30 runs were mustered at the death. It's a defendable total, but one you suspect is well below what Bangladesh would have been eyeing considering the start they had.

Bangladesh struck Rashid Khan for two boundaries in a 10-run 14th over, but that was the last over in which they managed to reach double digits, such was Afghanistan's mastery at the death. During this period just four boundaries were struck, as Bangladesh managed just 41 runs in the final six overs.

We already noted that since the start of 2024 no bowler has picked up more wickets than Noor Ahmad's 134 wickets in T20s, but he seems to have really upped it a level this year.

Noor finished his spell with exceptional figures of 2 for 23. This is his fifth game in 2025 and in each of them he's picked up at least one wicket - 8 in total - and in none of those games has economy rate gone above six an over. His economy of 5.75 is the joint-most expensive he's been in a T20I this year.

Tanzid Hasan has been crucial to this Bangladesh innings. His seventh T20I fifty came off just 28 deliveries, and has included 4 fours and 3 sixes. But six of those boundaries came inside the powerplay, and you got the sense he was growing frustrated.

The get out shot was coming, but his attempted loft down the ground off Noor came off the bottom of the bat. More height than distance, and long-off makes no mistake. Bangladesh would have wanted him to hang about until the death overs, but now it's up to the rest of the batting to build on the platform Tanzid has set.

Noor Ahmad struck off his first delivery, and the first delivery after the drinks break as Litton Das missed a sweep and was struck on the front pad. The on field call was not out, but the review was an astute one, as this had just about pitched in line with leg stump. Once that was confirmed there was no doubt about where the ball was heading.

Bangladesh changed up their opening pair, but with it it's been a change in attitude. Boundaries have been the order of the day, and this pair have been delivering - albeit with a little bit of luck. Both batters have had a control percentage less than 50%, but the boundaries have been flowing.

Tanzid Hasan in particular has been uber aggressive. Of his 12 deliveries faced in the powerplay, half went to the boundary.

Edit: And just as I type that, Rashid breaks the stand with a googly that sneaks under Saif's attempted slog. A promising opening stand worth 63 comes to an end.

A spicy opening over from Fazalhaq Farooqi saw some early swing, first away from the right-hander and then back in for an optimistic shout for leg before.

Saif Hassan played and missed two of the opening three deliveries before finally connecting one of his fourth. Unfortunately for him, this powerful cover drive was within reach of Azmatullah Omarzai at extra cover. But unfortunately for Afghanistan, Omarzai couldn't hold on.

Saif though looks to be a man on a mission. He's charged down the track, and swung and missed at a few, but he did connect with a lovely pick up down to backward square leg.

Tanzid meanwhile has ridden his luck, slashing hard and getting a thick edge between keeper and first slip, before getting a bottom edge past first slip for four more one ball later. And one ball after that? He survived an lbw review on umpire's call, after being caught in his crease by a sharp in ducker from Farooqi. He celebrated his reprieve by smacking the next two down the ground!

The big battle today will be between Bangladesh's batters, who have recently found their power-hitting boots, against Afghanistan's plethora of spinners. Foremost among them is intriguingly the youngest in their arsenal - AM Ghazanfar.

The 19-year-old Afghanistan mystery spinner has already made a splash in all three formats since his international debut in 2024, and as this wonderful profile from Nagraj Gollapudi highlights, he's got confidence to burn.

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott even had a chuckle when asked about their insane amount of spin bowling options.

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first in Abu Dhabi.

Litton Kumar Das said the pitch looks a bit on the slow side, despite the Abu Dhabi pitch having been better for batting recently. Rashid Khan says they would have liked to bat first as well. He adds that the six days off they've had since their opening game has been welcome.

In terms of team news, Bangladesh have made a raft of changes - four in total - with Saif Hassan, Nurul Hasan, Nasum Ahmed and Taskin Ahmed coming in. Mahedi Hasan, Pervez Hossain Emon, Tanzin Sakib and Shoriful Islam miss out. Afghanistan have named an unchanged XI.

The pitch is on the dry side, with the spinners expected to come into play as the game progresses. "I don't expect too much turn," notes Ravi Shastri. "but with the quality of spinners on display, they will come into play." The powerplay is also likely to be crucial, with the hard ball coming on to the bat.

Bangladesh XI: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan, Litton Das (capt & wk), Towhid Hridoy, Nasum Ahmed, Nurul Hasan, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed

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