Afghanistan finished day three of their one-off Test against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday, needing to score a daunting 617 runs more to win. Despite losing two wickets in the final session of the day, Afghanistan managed to avoid any further damage. Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi retired hurt after being hit by a bouncer on his helmet, as Bangladesh dominated the day and set the visitors a target of 662, having declared their second innings on 425-4.
Bangladesh pacers Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed made early breakthroughs, removing both Afghanistan openers Ibrahim Zadran and Abdul Malik within the first two overs. Shoriful got Zadran lbw off the very first ball of the innings, while in the second over, Taskin took Malik’s wicket for five runs.
Shahidi and Rahmat Shah then put up a 19-run stand to steady the ship. However, Shahidi’s mishap left Rahmat and Nasir Jamal at the crease to see out the day’s play. Bad light shortened the day, with Rahmat remaining unbeaten on 10 off 32 balls, and Nasir on five runs off 15 deliveries.
Despite the challenges, Afghanistan hasn’t given up hope of a win. The team will need to overcome Bangladesh’s strong second innings total when they resume play on day four.
