Gurbaz, Nabi push Afghanistan to 151 in first T20 against Bangladesh

Afghanistan put up 151 for 8 against Bangladesh in their first T20, built on Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s gritty 40 and a blistering 38 from Mohammad Nabi at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Electing to bat, Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal made a steady start before Nasum Ahmed (1-18) breached Zadran’s defence to spark an early slide on Thursday.

Atal (10), Darwish Rasooli (0) and Mohammad Ishaq (1) followed quickly, reducing Afghanistan to 40 for 4 inside seven overs.

Azmatullah Omarzai (18) offered brief resistance alongside Gurbaz, adding 33 for the fifth wicket, but miscued to long-on trying to up the tempo.

Gurbaz struck 3 sixes and 2 fours to rebuild momentum, but misread a slower ball from Tanzim Hasan Sakib (2-34) and edged to cover-point, paving the way for Nabi’s arrival.

The former captain launched a counter-attack, hammering four sixes and a boundary in a 25-ball cameo. Just as he threatened to push Afghanistan beyond reach, Taskin Ahmed deceived him with a knuckleball for a catch in the deep.

Sharafuddin Ashraf’s unbeaten 17 carried the total past 150, giving Afghanistan a fighting score to defend.