Rahmat’s Unbeaten 84, Afghanistan’s Stubborn Resistance Leave Tigers Frustrated on Day Two

Sports Desk

Bangladesh were left on the backfoot by Afghanistan’s unbeaten fifth-wicket stand on the second day of the one-off Test in Abu Dhabi. Riding on an unbroken 72-run stand between Rahmat Shah and Ikram Alikhil, Afghanistan reached 211 for 4 at the end of the day on Saturday.

In the 47th over, Hasmatullah Shahidi was stumped for a duck off Mehedi Hasan Miraz, leaving the visitors reeling at 139 for four. However, Rahmat Shah and Ikram took charge of the team from there.

Captain Rahmat Shah is unbeaten on 84 off 186 balls. Rahmat, who completed his half-century off 112 balls with four fours and a six, left the field with Ikram on 26 off 91 balls. The pair completed their fifty in 159 balls after thwarting one after another attempt by the Tiger bowlers. In the final session, the Afghans added 10 more runs after the team’s total crossed 200 before ending the day with a 10-run win.

Earlier, Abdul Malik, who was playing well, was dismissed for 62 by Ebadat Hossain. Malik, who had scored four fours and a six off 120 balls, was forced to take a catch behind the wicket by Ebadat, which broke the Afghans’ resistance. Earlier, the pace star also took the wicket of Shahidullah, who had made 20 runs.

Hasan Mahmud dismissed Sediqullah Atal for 17 runs earlier in the day. However, despite a strong appeal for a catch out against Atal early on, Bangladesh missed a big opportunity by not taking a review. The replay clearly showed that the ball had touched the edge of the bat.

Bangladesh, who started the second day of play with 317 for 8 in the morning, were all out for 346 in the first innings (92.3 overs). Naeem Hasan remained unbeaten on 35 off 67 balls. Taijul Islam scored 9 runs but Ebadat departed before opening the account.

In reply, Afghanistan put on 30 runs for the opening partnership. After Atal’s dismissal in the 11th over, Shahidullah returned for 64 runs. However, Malik and Rahmat put up a crucial 70-run stand for the third wicket, which was eventually broken by Ebadat.

At the end of the second day, Afghanistan was still 135 runs behind Bangladesh.