‘We thought we had the game’: Shakib Al Hasan praises ‘dangerous’ Najibullah for taking match away from Bangladesh – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

A late blitz from left-hander Najibullah Zadran helped Afghanistan secure direct qualification to the Super Four phase of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 as he hit a flurry of sixes to help his team defeat Bangladesh by seven wickets in a Group B tie in Sharjah on Tuesday.

Afghanistan’s star spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/16) and Rashid Khan (3/22) ran through a reckless Bangladesh batting line-up to restrict the opposition to 127.

Bangladesh stifled Afghanistan in the run chase before Najibullah’s belligerent 43 not out off 17 balls, comprising six sixes, got his team over the line in 18.3 overs.

After the game was over, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan heaped praises on Najibullah at the post-match presentation and said, “We knew Najibullah is a dangerous batsman. We thought we had the game when they needed 60 odd in the last 6 overs. But credit to Najibullah.”

“It is always tough when you lose 4 wickets in the first 7-8 overs. We were in the game for the first 14-15 overs. Credit to Afghanistan. In a T20 game, whoever is standing up for the team should take it till the end. Mosaddek played well but we needed more contributions,” Shakib added.

Meanwhile, Najibullah opened up on his power-hitting and said, “The wicket was a bit low so I tried to play straight. I took a few balls and played my natural game then after that. I don’t look at the boundary. I just look at the bowler and look to hit.”

Also, Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi said that his side finished the game well.

“Everyone knows both Mujeeb and Rashid are world-class bowlers. They again showed their talent and ability. We plan to take early wickets to be ahead in the game. Everyone knows that we have power hitters in our team. We finished the game really well. Gurbaz tried a lot but couldn’t hit them well. Shakib bowled brilliantly,” said Nabi in a post-match presentation.

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