Bangladesh captain Das highlights batting failure in victory over Afghanistan

ABU DHABI: Bangladesh captain Litton Das termed their eight-run victory over Afghanistan in the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday ‘a relief’ but rued batting failure at the backend of their innings.

Opting to bat first, Bangladesh registered a formidable total of 154/5 on the board, courtesy of Tanzid Hasan’s brisk half-century up the order.

He was supported by fellow opener Saif Hassan and middle-order batter Towhid Hridoy, who made 30 and 26, respectively.

Although the total remained sufficient for Bangladesh’s bowling unit to defend, Das emphasised that they were around 20 runs short as their batters struggled to score at a brisk rate in the last five overs.

"Winning the game is a little bit of a relief, but at the same time, we didn't bat well in the last four or five overs. We also didn't bowl well in the middle overs. I know we had enough runs on the board, but we were still 15 to 20 runs short with the bat,” said Das.

In response, Afghanistan could accumulate 146 before being bowled out on the final delivery of the innings and thus suffered their first defeat in the Asia Cup 2025.

Leading the way with the ball for Bangladesh was Mustafizur Rahman, who took three wickets for just 28 runs in his four overs, while Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed and Taskin Ahmed chipped in with two each.

“The way our bowlers bowled was very good, especially Nasum Ahmed, who played after a long time and showed his skill. Rishad Hossain also took a wicket in the middle overs. The bowling was very good today,” Das continued.

“The partnership between Saif Hassan and Tanzid Tamim was very crucial at the start. In the same way, in the bowling side, when Nasum came and took an early wicket, it made it even more special.”

The eight-run victory lifted Bangladesh to second in Group B standings as they finished with four points in three matches and a negative net run rate of 0.270.

The Tigers would now want Sri Lanka to beat Afghanistan in the last Group B match of the Asia Cup 2025, scheduled to be played on Thursday, to secure Super Four qualification, but Das remained unsure about supporting arch-rivals Sri Lanka in the upcoming fixture.

“I don't know, let's see,” Das stated with a smile.