Afghanistan 164 for 6 (Nabi 84*, Afghan 40, Saifuddin 4-33, Shakib 2-18) beat Bangladesh 139 (Mahmudullah 44, Mujeeb 4-15, Rashid 2-23, Naib 2-27, Fareed 2-33) by 25 runs
A Mohammad Nabi special powered Afghanistan to a 25-run win over Bangladesh to send them top of the points table at the halfway point of the tri-series. Afghanistan have now broken their own 2016-17 record of most consecutive T20I wins, and in some style, as the home side was bowled out for 139 in pursuit of Afghanistan's 164 for 6.
Nabi blasted seven sixes and three fours in his unbeaten 84 off 54 balls. He came to the crease with Afghanistan in trouble at 40 for 4, and finished with a flurry of big hits in the last five overs. He added 79 runs for the fifth wicket with Asghar Afghan, as the pair rode out Mohammad Saifuddin's maiden four-wicket haul.
Afghans lose four in Powerplay
Saifuddin and Shakib Al Hasan took two wickets each in Afghanistan's Powerplay. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was out first ball, undone by a superb Saifuddin outswinger, before Shakib had Hazratullah Zazai caught at deep square-leg for 1. Najeeb Tarakai also holed out to deep square-leg before Najibullah Zadran, who had blazed a half-century against Zimbabwe the previous night, gave mid-off a simple catch in the sixth over.
Experience bails them out
Afghan and Nabi slowed down the scoring rate to settle down, before both opened out after the halfway mark with sixes off Taijul Islam and Mosaddek Hossain. Taijul nearly had Afghan but replays showed he had over-stepped at the start of the 15th over when he had him caught at the leg-side boundary. Nabi and Afghan pasted Taijul for two more sixes in the over, before Saifuddin broke their 79-run stand by removing Afghan for 40 off 37 balls in the 17th over.
Nabi goes solo
Nabi smashed Mustafizur Rahman for a huge six soon after Afghan's departure, and then - after a double-wicket 17th over from Saifuddin - smacked 21 runs in the 18th over, surprisingly bowled by Soumya Sarkar. Two more sixes came in the 19th, bowled by Saifuddin, and Nabi seemed in with a chance of pushing for three figures, only to be denied by Mustafizur, who closed out the innings by conceding just three in the 20th.
Hosts mimic Afghanistan's start
Bangladesh's plan to counter Mujeeb Ur Rahman by sending the right-handed pair of Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim to open went kaput inside five overs. Mujeeb took three of the four wickets to fall, getting Liton to top-edge to cover before Mushfiqur was bowled attempting a scoop off Fareed Ahmad.
Shakib and Soumya fell in the fifth over to Mujeeb, who hardly gave them any room. Minutes after an argument with Rashid Khan, Shakib gave him a simple catch at mid-on, which ensued a send-off from the Afghanistan captain, before Soumya was trapped lbw for a duck.
No heroes for Bangladesh
Afghanistan were on top despite a 58-run fifth-wicket stand between Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman, and Mujeeb's last over accounted for the latter, and Gulbadin Naib's legcutters removed Mahmudullah and Afif Hossain, Bangladesh's hero from their first match.
Apart from Mujeeb's four-wicket haul, Fareed, Naib and Rashid took two each.
