Yamin Ahmadzai on hat-trick as Bangladesh slump to 26/2 in Sharjah tri-series ODI

Afghanistan strike early as Bangladesh stumble in Sharjah

Bangladesh were in a spot of bother inside the opening powerplay of their ODI against Afghanistan in the UAE tri-series in Sharjah, slumping to 26/2 after six overs as Yamin Ahmadzai produced a sensational opening spell with the new ball.

Ahmadzai's dream first over

The right-arm pacer needed just two balls to make an impact, removing opener Tanzid Hasan with a faint edge behind to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Bangladesh were 6/1 in the 1.2nd over when the breakthrough came.

"Yamin Ahmadzai to Tanzid Hasan, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! There's the first breakthrough as Yamin strikes. Ahmadzai bashes the length hard, on the off stump. It lands and holds its line but slightly kicks up from the surface. Tanzid Hasan looks to block it off the back foot, but plays inside the line. Perhaps he anticipated the ball to shape in, but gets a faint outside edge. A straightforward catch to Rahmanullah Gurbaz behind the stumps."

Soumya Sarkar walked out to bat at number three but lasted a single delivery, chopping onto his own stumps for a golden duck to leave Bangladesh 6/2 and hand Ahmadzai a hat-trick chance.

"Yamin Ahmadzai to Soumya Sarkar, OUT! DRAGGED ON! Yet another failure for Sarkar in ODIs as he falls for a golden duck. Hits the length hard, does Yamin, outside the off-stump line. Soumya Sarkar hangs back and tries to cut it square on the off side, but he stays put and it is a bit too close to execute that shot. He ends up chopping it back onto the stumps and stands there in absolute shock. Yamin is on a hat-trick and Afghanistan are on a roll in Sharjah."

Shanto and Hassan rebuild

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto walked in to face the hat-trick delivery and survived, before combining with Saif Hassan to try and steady the innings. At the other end, Azmatullah Omarzai kept the pressure on with disciplined lines, while Ibrahim Zadran and AM Ghazanfar patrolled the cordon. Shanto found the boundary on several occasions — including a swivelled pull through square leg and a streaky inside edge that raced to the deep fine leg fence.

"Azmatullah Omarzai to Najmul Hossain Shanto, FOUR! Nicely timed and placed! Short and into the bodyline, Shanto picks the length early, swivels and nails the pull shot through square leg for a boundary."

Earlier in his stay, Shanto had also profited from an inside edge that beat Gurbaz and ran away for four.

"Yamin Ahmadzai to Najmul Hossain Shanto, FOUR! Off the inside edge! Slanted miles outside off, and it would have been a wide had Shanto left it alone. But he throws his hands at it to access the off side and gets a massive inside edge. The ball trickles behind to the keeper. Rahmanullah Gurbaz finds himself wrong-footed as he moves a bit too much to his left and has to dive to his right but the ball still stays out of his reach and races to the fence behind."

Must-win pressure

With Bangladesh under pressure early in what was described as a must-win contest, the onus fell on Shanto and Hassan to rebuild. A brief halt followed when Shanto raised a concern over movement behind the bowler's arm, but the umpire sorted it out and play resumed. By the six-over mark, the visitors had reached 26/2, still very much in the contest but indebted to their openers' early reprieve.