AFG vs BAN 1st T20I Results

6:32 PM IST And that's a wrap from today's match. Bangladesh have taken a 1-0 lead in the series. The second T20I will be played on Friday, October 3rd, at 2.30 pm GMT. Tune in for pre-match coverage and join us again for exciting cricket action. Until then, stay safe and goodbye!

6:32 PM IST Bangladesh captain Jaker Ali praised his team's performance despite acknowledging areas for improvement in both bowling and batting. After a strong start, Bangladesh held their nerve to secure a win against a good Afghan side. Ali noted that cricket is unpredictable, and while Afghanistan fought hard, the win was what mattered. He highlighted the need to improve in specific areas, particularly in bowling at the death overs, but was pleased with the overall performance, which gave his team confidence ahead of their next match.

6:29 PM IST Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan reflected on his team's recent performance, acknowledging that while they made a good comeback, they could have finished stronger. He emphasized the importance of execution in T20 cricket, particularly in maintaining momentum, and felt that a total of 170 would have been more competitive. Khan also highlighted areas for improvement ahead of the World Cup, including shot selection and the need for players to bring their natural game, with attacking players playing aggressively rather than defensively. He noted that Afghanistan's bowling in the first six overs was subpar and that the team managed to gain momentum only when they hit their stride in the last 10 overs, finding some positives to build on for their next match.

6:25 PM IST Parvez Hossain Emon, the Player of the Match, expressed his delight with the opening partnership and credited his success to playing according to his merit. He praised Rashid for a good job but gave special mention to Nurul Hasan for finishing the game well, and emphasized that the team will continue to give their best efforts.

6:15 PM IST Stay tuned for the presentation ...

6:14 PM IST Earlier in the game, Afghanistan won the toss and batted first, posting 151/9. They struggled, losing wickets regularly, but Rahmanullah Gurbaz held one end with 40 off 31 deliveries. They lost early wickets, including three in the Powerplay. Mohammad Nabi's 38 and Azmatullah Omarzai's 18, helped propel Afghanistan to a competitive total. For Bangladesh, Rishad and Tanzim picked up key wickets despite being expensive, while Nasum and Mustafizur Rahman bowled economically, with Nasum shining in the powerplay and Mustafizur in the middle overs.