Presentation time:
Rashid Khan: I'm really happy with my performance and the best thing was I performed with both bat and ball. My main focus was to bat till the end and I think our preparation was good to play till the end. Our fielding was amazing and the conditions were really hard and tough. We've been working hard on our fielding, we focus a lot on that. I've been coming on to bowl late because I want to build pressure by bowling more dot balls and the batsmen give their wickets. You can't rely on or two kind of players on these kind of pitches. I want to dedicate this award to our ex board chairman Atif Mashal who has done a wonderful job for us in the last few years.
Asghar: It was a very important game for us and I'll give a lot of credit to Naib and Rashid for their effort. Our top and middle order didn't play very well but thanks to god Naib and Rashid did very well. Yes, it will be tough for other teams to chase 230 kind of totals against us because of our bowling and fielding. I do have a groin issue but I'll let the physio decide tomorrow on my status for the match (against Pakistan)
10.55pm Chasing these totals of over 200 (barring Hong Kong's attempt against India) is proving to be real tough in this tournament. It could be the heat, it could be the slow pitches that don't have much for the batsmen or bowlers, or it could just be a rewind to the '90s when 250 used to be match-winning. That's all from us tonight, Akshay and I, Vishal, need some sleep too. You can join us tomorrow for the next stage, here are the matches....Until then, it's goodbye and good luck!
SHRAVAN: "Afghanistan play India in super four not Pakistan??" India v Bangladesh and Afghanistan v Pakistan
Surbhi Oberoi: "These are some big victories for AFG, happy to see them grow. Rashid Khan is a superstar in making(if not already). Well played!"
Virag: "As good as it is to see Rashid Khan play his weight in Gold , it is great to see other players like Naib and Shahidi come to the party. Cricket is a team game after all and you need team efforts to take you far."
Rohit: "What a way to enter his 20s! - Happy Birthday Rashid Khan!!"
10.36pm What a comprehensive performance from Afghanistan, they are unbeaten in the Asia Cup after facing Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. At one point it looked like Shakib was taking the match away from them with his stifling lines and four wickets in the first innings. But Bangladesh put the foot off the pedal when Afghanistan were seven down, only to see birthday boy Rashid Khan snatch the game from them. A scintillating half-century in the company of Gulbadin Naib, two wickets after the opening bowlers did the damage and then a run-out too. He aptly leads his team off the field after this massive win.
Mashrafe Mortaza: Afghanistan outplayed us from the 40th over. They played really well and we didn't bowl well in the last 10 overs and batting wasn't up to the mark. We have a big match tomorrow and boys need to be fresh. It's a bit difficult to recover from back to back matches in this heat. Mushfiqur and Mustafiz were rested today because of the niggles.
Jigar Aiya: "Afghanistan is no more underdog. Now very much in race for trophy"
Harsha: "Asia Cup is turning into a huge success with Afganistan and Hong Kong being 2 new forces to reckon with."
Rubel Hossain lbw b Mujeeb Ur Rahman 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Mujeeb comes back
END OF OVER:42 | (wicket maiden) | BAN: 119/9 (137 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 2.83, RRR: 17.12)
- Mosaddek Hossain26 (60b)
- Rubel Hossain0 (0b)
- Rashid Khan9-3-13-2
- Mohammad Nabi10-1-24-1
Abu Hider run out 1 (11b 0x4 0x6) SR: 9.09