By Admin 
BAN vs AFG: Afghanistan made a great start to the three-match series by defeating Bangladesh by 5 wickets in the first ODI played in Abu Dhabi. The hero of this victory was all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, who performed brilliantly with both bat and ball. At the same time, star spinner Rashid Khan achieved another historic milestone by completing 200 wickets in One Day International cricket.
Rashid Khan touched the figure of 200
27 year old Rashid Khan achieved this feat in the 107th innings of his career. He reached this milestone by dismissing Bangladesh batsman Mehdi Hasan Miraj LBW. In this way, Rashid has become the first bowler from Afghanistan to complete a double century of wickets in ODI cricket.
In this match, Rashid took 3 wickets for just 38 runs in his 10 overs. He put pressure on Bangladesh’s batsmen from the very first over. Before Rashid, only three bowlers, Mohammed Shami, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mitchell Starc, were able to reach 200 wickets in less innings. This shows how stable and strong Rashid’s performance has been.
Umarzai’s all-round performance became a match turner
Azmatullah Omarzai made an important contribution to Afghanistan’s victory. Bowling first, he limited Bangladesh’s innings by taking 3 wickets. After this, while chasing the target, he played a quick inning of 40 runs and took the team to the threshold of victory. He was chosen Player of the Match for his excellent performance.
Afghanistan’s powerful chase
Batting first, Bangladesh scored 221 runs. In reply, Afghanistan won the match by scoring 226 runs for 5 wickets in 47.1 overs.
Team’s openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rahmat Shah played brilliant innings of 50-50 runs, while captain Hashmatullah Shahidi added 33 runs.
Hasan Mahmood’s hard work in vain for Bangladesh
From Bangladesh, fast bowler Hasan Mahmood tried his best to trouble the Afghan batsmen by taking 4 wickets, but during this time he did not get support from the other bowlers.