Afghanistan snatched a thrilling draw against Bangladesh on the final day at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. They focused strictly on survival with a massive 479-run target. Thanks to the young opener Sediqullah Atal Afghanistan remained in the game and later the lower order refused to surrender.
Sediqullah Atal records historic ton
Resuming the final day at 132/3 with a daunting target of 479 runs to win, Afghanistan needed at least one anchor to stand tall. The resistance came from the young opener Sediqullah Atal, who played a legendary knock. Atal anchored the innings through the morning and afternoon sessions, bringing up his maiden Test century (111 off 332 balls).
In the process, he became the first Afghan batsman to score a century in the fourth innings of a Test match. It was his relentless effort and grit that denied Bangladesh what seemed like an easy win.
A minor collapse followed by a dramatic survival by tail-enders
However, Bangladesh finally got some success when Taijul Islam got Atal caught by Tanzid Hasan shortly before tea, ending his epic 332-ball stay. Mehidy Hasan Miraz then struck in quick succession. He started by removing Hashmatullah Shahidi (36) and Ismat Alam (4) to spark a minor middle-order wobble. As pitch conditions offered variable bounce with the passing time, Bangladesh went all-out attacking with close-in fielders and frequent DRS reviews searching for the final two wickets.
The final session turned out to a display of a gripping tail-end defence. With Bangladesh needing two wickets and Afghanistan needing to survive the final 20 overs, the match reached a dramatic climax. Qais Ahmad (49 off 80 balls)* and Yamin Ahmadzai (19 off 85 balls) staged a remarkable, nerve-shredding lower-order stand. By the time the final scheduled over was bowled, Afghanistan reached 346/8 in 142 overs, to officially draw the one-off Test match.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 346 (Tanzid 83, Shadman 67, Litton 53, Saleem 4-82) and 372 for 7 (Litton 102, Shanto 82, Mushfiqur 81, Saleem 2-69) drew with Afghanistan 240 (Rahmat 105, Malik 62, Mahmud 5-55) and 346 for 8 (Atal 111, Rahmat 51, Qais 49*, Ebadot 3-50)
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