Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Afsar Zazai said their batting has made the difference as they stand on the brink of an historic win against a better-ranked Bangladesh in the lone Test match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
The fourth and penultimate day of play finished with Afghanistan on top as Bangladesh struggled to 136 runs for the loss of six wickets in 44.2 overs, chasing 398.
Zazai’s claim is on point as the Afghans brushed off doubts about their Test patience.
The visiting side first scored 342 against an all-out Bangladesh spin attack before making 260 in the second innings to set a humongous target for the opponent.
“I think the difference is we batted really well. We worked hard during our preparations. Our coaching staff, especially our batting coach Nawroz Mangal, the former captain, he did a great job with us and he gives a lot of confidence to the boys. You know about our spinners and they are quality spinners and I think this is the big difference between us and them,” said Zazai, who was unbeaten on 48 in the second essay.
Talk of the day was Bangladesh’s strategy of altering the batting line-up to create the left-hand and right-hand combination, particularly to disturb right-arm spinner Mohammad Nabi.
Rain played spoilsport while @BCBtigers' batting struggles continued as @ACBofficials inched closer to a Test win against a better-ranked side at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium Sunday.https://t.co/TX5XhKFl0R#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #BANGLADESHCRICKET #ACB
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) September 8, 2019
The plan however, backfired drastically as the local batters were unsuccessful in executing their ability.
“I think they were trying to make right and left combination because of Nabi. If two left-handers are at the crease, it will be easy to get them. So I think that was their planning so we didn’t care about it that much,” Zazai informed.
Playing just their third Test since achieving the status in 2017, the Afghans will treat the probable win against Bangladesh as a statement of their ability in the longer-version.
War-torn Afghanistan are already one of the most exciting teams in the shorter versions.
“It means a lot to be honest. The people know about us (being) good enough in white-ball cricket. We don’t have much experience in Test cricket. In the Test and the previous Test we played against Ireland, we showed that we can play Test cricket as well. I think it means more than T20I and ODI for us. We have discussed in our dressing room that this Test match is very important for us to win because we want to show we can play Test cricket,” Zazai explained.
ONLY TEST, DAY 4
AFGHANISTAN 1ST INNINGS R B
Ibrahim c Mahmudullah b Taijul 21 69
Ihsanullah b Taijul 9 36
Rahmat c Soumya b Nayeem 102 187
Shahidi c Soumya b Mahmudullah 14 32
Asghar c Mushfiq b Taijul 92 174
Nabi b Nayeem 0 3
Zazai b Taijul 41 115
Rashid c & b Miraz 51 61
Qais c Mominul b Shakib 9 15
Yamin c Soumya b Shakib 0 7
Zahir not out 0 5
Extras (lb 1, nb 2) 3
Total (117 Overs) 342 all out
Fall Of Wickets
1-19 (Ihsanullah), 2-48 (Ibrahim), 3-77 (Shahidi), 4-197 (Rahmat), 5-197 (Nabi), 6-278 (Asghar), 7-299 (Zazai), 8-322 (Qais), 9-327 (Yamin), 10-342 (Rashid)
Bowling
Taijul 41-5-116-4, Shakib 22-1-64-2, Miraz 28-5-73-1, Nayeem 13-0-43-2, Mahmudullah 4-0-9-1, Soumya 4-0-26-0, Mominul 4-0-9-0, Mosaddek 1-0-1-0
BANGLADESH 1ST INNINGS R B
Shadman c Zazai b Yamin 0 4
Soumya lbw b Nabi 17 66
Liton b Rashid 33 66
Mominul c Asghar b Nabi 52 71
Shakib lbw b Rashid 11 20
Mushfiq c Ibrahim b Rashid 0 2
Mahmudullah b Rashid 7 13
Mosaddek not out 48 82
Miraz b Qais 11 31
Taijul b Nabi 14 58
Nayeem lbw b Rashid 7 12
Extras (b 4, lb 1) 5
Total (70.5 Overs) 205 all out
1-0 (Shadman), 2-38 (Soumya), 3-54 (Liton), 4-88 (Shakib), 5-88 (Mushfiq), 6-104 (Mahmudullah), 7-130 (Mominul Haque), 8-146 (Miraz), 9-194 (Taijul), 10-205 (Nayeem)
Bowling
Yamin 10-2-21-1, Nabi 24-6-56-3, Zahir 9-1-46-0, Rashid 19.5-3-55-5, Qais 8-2-22-1
AFGHANISTAN 2ND INNINGS R B
Ihsanullah lbw b Shakib 4 3
Ibrahim c Mominul b Nayeem87 208
Rahmat c & b Shakib 0 1
Shahidi c Soumya b Nayeem 12 37
Asghar c Shakib b Taijul 50 108
Zazai not out 48 110
Nabi c Mominul b Miraz 8 13
Rashid b Taijul 24 22
Qais lbw b Shakib 14 26
Yamin run out (Liton/Mushfiq) 9 11
Zahir c Mominul b Miraz 0 2
Extras (b 4) 4
Total (90.1 Overs) 260 all out
Fall Of Wickets
1-4 (Ihsanullah), 2-4 (Rahmat), 3-28 (Shahidi), 4-136 (Asghar), 5-171 (Ibrahim), 6-180 (Nabi), 7-210 (Rashid), 8-235 (Qais), 9-260 (Yamin), 10-260 (Zahir)
Bowling
Shakib 19-3-58-3, Miraz 12.1-3-35-2, Taijul 28-6-86-2, Nayeem 17-2-61-2, Mominul 10-6-13-0, Mosaddek 4-1-3-0
BANGLADESH 2ND INNINGS R B
Liton lbw b Zahir 9 30
Shadman lbw b Nabi 41 114
Mosaddek c Asghar b Zahir 12 17
Mushfiq lbw b Rashid 23 25
Mominul lbw b Rashid 3 8
Shakib not out 39 46
Mahmudullah c Ibrahim b Rashid 7 21
Soumya not out 0 5
Extras (lb 2) 2
Total (44.2 Overs) 136/6
Fall Of Wickets
1-30 (Liton), 2-52 (Mosaddek), 3-78 (Mushfiq), 4-82 (Mominul), 5-106 (Shadman), 6-125 (Mahmudullah)
Bowling
Yamin 4-1-14-0, Nabi 17.2-4-38-1, Rashid 13-0-46-3, Zahir 10-0-36-2
Bangladesh need 262 more runs to win
