Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan accepted his share of the blame for his side’s narrow defeat to Bangladesh in the Group B fixture of the ongoing Asia Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 16 September.
Rashid was batting on 14 when Afghanistan needed 31 runs from three overs. Karim Janat was dismissed off the first ball of the 18th over, leaving the Afghanistan skipper as the last recognised batter. In the penultimate over of the run chase, Mustafizur Rahman dismissed Rashid for 20 off 11 deliveries, bringing his team closer to the brink of victory.
“We were in the game until the end,” said Rashid after the match. “Until I got out, we were there, but we just couldn’t finish it. I think 30 runs from 15 balls is very achievable nowadays, but at that time, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves and couldn’t execute our shots well.”
Bangladesh started the contest in blazing fashion, scoring 87 runs in the first ten overs. Despite the strong start, they managed only 154 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Rashid and Noor Ahmad led Afghanistan’s fightback with the ball. While Rashid praised the bowlers, he lamented the poor shot selection with the bat.
“Definitely, the way we came back with the ball was a huge effort. To restrict them to under 160 after they had 90 in the first 10 overs was a massive job. I think it was a 160–170-run wicket, but we played some irresponsible shots where it wasn’t needed,” he added.
In their final Group B match of the Asia Cup 2025, Afghanistan will play against Sri Lanka. If Afghanistan win that game, they will qualify for the Super Fours due to a superior net run rate. A Sri Lanka victory would see Bangladesh qualify for the next round.
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