Bangladesh lose first Asia Cup match by 7 wickets as all-round Afghanistan book place in Top 4

Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran's unbeaten 69-run partnership took the game away from Bangladesh as Shakib and Co. lost their first Asia Cup 2022 match by 7 wickets.

Najibullah hit Mahedi straight down the ground for a six to finish the match off and take their team to the Top 4. They are the first side to book their place in the Top 4.

It looked a little shaky at the halfway stage of this innings but Najibullah and Ibrahim Zadran just laid to rest every hope that Bangladesh had. The barrage of sixes from Najibullah was massive statements dished out by Afghanistan to other teams.

Things looked tight when Afghanistan needed 26 from the final 3 overs but Saifuddin gave away 22 runs in the 18th over which essentially ended all hopes for Bangladesh.Najibullah bagged a quickfire 43 runs from 17 deliveries while his partner Ibrahim scored 42.

Afghanistan started off slowly in their pursuit of 128 runs. Shakib Al Hasan provided the first breakthrough in the fifth over.

Shakib Al hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, and Mohammad Saifuddin picked up a wicket each for Bangladesh.

Afghanistan bagged 48 runs in the first 10 overs needing 80 from the last 10. They lost their skipper Mohammad Nabi and were reduced to 62 for 3 at one stage. After that, it was all Zadrans' show. Ibrahim Zadran played the role of the anchor. But it was Najibullah who delivered the killer punches just when it mattered.

Some credit to Bangladesh for making a game out of only 127. Their batting let them down.

Earlier, Mosaddek Hossain's unbeaten 48 off 31 balls takes Bangladesh to a somewhat decent total of 127 for7 for after 20 overs. Mosaddek hit four boundaries and one maximum during his innings. 

Shakib's decision to bat first after electing to bat first at Sharjah backfired in the early overs of their innings. At one stage, they were reduced to 28 for 4 after 6.2 overs. 

On a dusty pitch that had a fair amount of grip and turn, there was hardly anything loose. Towards the end, had it not been for Mosaddek Hossain's 31-ball 48, and Mehidy Hasan's 12-ball 14 that saw a form of recovery, things could have been a lot more embarrassing.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman began the wicket fest early in the innings with the wicket of Naim Sheikh in his very first over. He then went on to pick up the wickets of Anamul Haque and Shakib Al Hasan. 

At one stage, it looked like Afghanistan would even fold Bangladesh out for under 100.

Afif Hossain and Mahmudullah Riyad then built a 25-run partnership before Afif departed for 12.

Mahmudullah played a 25-run innings off 27 balls and built a 36-run partnership to steady the ship.

Mosaddek played a few shots here and there but Bangladesh never really got going. 

Mujeeb and Rashid bagged three wickets each while the other was a runout. 

Bangladesh play their next game against Sri Lanka in a 'must-win' match on 01 September. Both teams have to win the match to confirm their Top 4 place.