Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed and batsman Liton Das helped Bangladesh halt an eight-match losing streak in Twenty20 internationals with a resounding 61-run win over Afghanistan in Dhaka on Thursday.
Nasum returned with career-best figures of 4 for 10 as Bangladesh bowled out Afghanistan for 94 runs in 17.4 overs after Liton’s 60 off 44 balls guided the side to 155-8 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Sta-dium.
The win ended Bangladesh’s long streak of de-feats in T20Is starting from the Twenty20 World Cup in Oman and the UAE last year and gave the side a 1-0 lead in a two-match series.
Nasum picked up four wickets in his only spell, opening the bowling for Bangladesh to give the hosts a firm grip on the game as they reduced Afghanistan to 20 for 4 inside five overs.
Najibullah Zadran and skipper Mohammad Nabi briefly stopped the rot with a 37-run fifth-wicket stand before Shakib Al Hasan dismissed both.
Zadran, dropped on four by wicketkeeper Liton, made 27 off 26 balls. Azmatullah Omarzai staged a late fightback to score 20 off 18 balls but it was not enough. “Pleasing to see how the boys fought in the middle with the bat, ball. —APP
