Najibullah Zadran smashed an unbeaten 43 off just 17 deliveries to power Afghanistan to a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Sharjah on Tuesday.
Najibullah Zadran smashed six sixes during his unbeaten 43 off 17 balls in the Asia Cup 2022 clash between Afghanistan and Bangladesh in Sharjah. AP
Najibullah Zadran sure made the cricketing world sit up and take notice of his power-hitting skills with his unbeaten 43 that helped Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by seven wickets and confirm their place in the Super 4 stage of the 2022 Asia Cup.
Afghanistan continued their winning ways in the continental showpiece event, pulling off yet another successful chase on Tuesday, with the hallowed Sharjah Cricket Stadium hosting its first game of the tournament. The chase, however, wasn’t as smooth as the eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka, in which they were in control throughout.
BAN vs AFG: Spinners, Najibullah Zadran’s cameo take Afghans into Super 4s
Afghanistan lost wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz early and struggled to score at a competitive pace for the most part of the innings, and would’ve fallen well short of the Bangladeshi total had it not been for Ibrahim Zadran holding the chase together with a patient display, followed by a late assault by Najibullah that ultimately helped the Afghans cross the finish line in a canter.
Najibullah was a league apart from the other batters on Tuesday; his dominance can be measured simply from the runs scored through boundaries — the Afghan middle-order bat collected 40 off 43 runs through boundaries, including six maximums, whereas the entire Bangladeshi team could score just 46 runs in boundaries after opting to bat.
Here’s a look at Najibullah’s strokeplay during his stay at the crease, which will have made him the new batter to watch out for in the shortest format:
Afghanistan thus became the first team to qualify for the Super 4 stage — which features the top two teams from each group with matches taking place in round-robin format to determine the two finalists.
Read: Mujeeb and Rashid show, Najibullah’s fireworks and other talking points
Meanwhile, Thursday’s clash between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka effectively becomes a knockout with the winner joining Afghanistan in the second stage.
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