Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Live Score, Match 3 of Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh tour of UAE, 2026

Then there were two - Well then, we are down to just the summit clash of this short tri-series as Afghanistan have knocked out Bangladesh, which also secures a spot for Zimbabwe in the final. The final will be played on Friday, October 23, here in Sharjah between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, beginning at 11.30 am GMT. As usual, you can also join us a lot sooner for the build-up. Cheers!

Lastly, the winning captain of Afghanistan - Rahmat Shah says that looking at the target and the wicket, they just tried to spend time at the crease, score runs, find the boundaries and rotate the strike. He feels that was one of the reasons they won the match without losing any more wickets. He adds that when you are at the crease, it is about building a partnership. Details that they kept supporting each other, rotated the strike, and looked for opportunities to attack when they could. On his own batting, Rahmat says he absolutely enjoys his batting whenever he goes out to the middle. He tries to rotate the strike rather than always looking for boundaries, waits for loose deliveries, and feels the longer he stays at the crease, the more pressure he can put on the opposition.

Let's now hear from Bangladesh's skipper - Towhid Hridoy starts by admitting that they are committing the same mistakes time and again, and early wickets cost them big time. Hridoy says that they can discuss strategy later on, but for now, they are disappointed. Adds that, heading forward, they can take a lot of learnings from this series, tweak a few things, and do well in the future as they have an upcoming Asia Cup at home. Hridoy ends by mentioning that the wicket was completely fine to bat on, and they have only themselves to blame for the lack of runs on the board.

Player of the Match - Rashid Khan is given the award for his stellar spell of 4/31 in 8.2 overs. Rashid Khan says it feels great on how things are going for him of late especially in the ODIs. He says he has really enjoyed his consistency with line and length, something he has been working towards, and calls it a huge pleasure to play for and perform for the national team. He adds that the more important thing for him is to stay consistent against any opposition and win games for the team. On what has helped him improve, Rashid says it is all about practice. He feels the hard work put in at the nets carries into the game, and stresses the need to always practise with a purpose and a plan to improve and work on different skills. When it is game time, he says, he has to be as accurate and consistent as possible. On the wicket of Emon, Rashid says Emon was playing really well at that time and getting his wicket was very important. He feels cricket is always about timing, and that you have to wait for your moment, and if you do not get a wicket in the first spell, you might get it in the second or third. He says it was all about staying calm, and also praises Nabi's catch as something very special. On the team's preparation for the upcoming big events, Rashid says it has been great so far, with a couple of good games and a good series against Ireland before that. He feels the preparation has been amazing and says the team just needs to keep things natural, go out there and express their talent. There is no need to do anything different, he says, and they need to keep playing positive cricket for as long as possible. On the final, Rashid calls it a big game but says they just need to know their strengths and play according to them.

The Presentation ceremony...

The skipper stands tall - With just 161 needed for the win, Afghanistan lost a couple of wickets inside the first 7 overs. However, Ibrahim Zadran looked unfazed, and Rahmat Shah came out and took control of the game. Bangladesh had to keep their opponents down to 119 or less to qualify and the bowlers upfront, especially Taskin Ahmed, bowled their hearts out. However, Shah stood tall like a rock and built up a couple of game-clinching partnerships - first with Zadran, and then with former skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi - taking his side over the line with ease. Shah remained unbeaten on 67, also making it 6 wins out of 6 since taking over as Afghanistan's ODI skipper.

Bowlers laid the foundation - After being asked to bowl first, Afghanistan started wonderfully, and it was Yamin Ahmadzai who went bang-bang early on, picking up two wickets off two balls. Azmatullah Omarzai followed it up with a couple of quick wickets of his own, and Bangladesh were in a real fix. Saif Hassan and Parvez Hossain Emon fought hard, and the latter even went past fifty. However, Saif's poor choice of shot allowed Afghanistan back, and Rashid Khan picked up the last four wickets in a short space of time to bundle out Bangladesh for just 160.

Afghanistan storm into the final - Yet another comprehensive win for Afghanistan, and they head into this tri-series final unbeaten and hardly even tested. As for Bangladesh, their road ends here, after a couple of hefty defeats against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, both of whom will now face each other in the final.

That's it. Shahidi hits the winning runs. Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets. Short delivery, closer to the off stump. Hashmatullah Shahidi creates room by backing away and cuts it between backward point and short third. The ball just refuses to speed to the fence and stops in the outfield, and the batters stroll back for the second run.

Full on middle, Shah clips it to long on for a single.

Pushed full on the leg stump, Rahmat misses the flick and is hit on the front pad.

Full and onto the stumps, Shahidi pushes it to cover.

Flat, full, on leg, drilled down to long on for a single.

Spins down the leg stump, on a fuller length. Rahmat Shah collapses his back knee to sweep-pull but misses and the ball hits his front thigh pad. Jokingly, Mehidy Hasan Miraz himself signals to the umpire that it is going down leg.

A tad short on off, Shahidi cuts it off the back foot to deep backward point for a single. Just a matter of a hit, then. Afghanistan need 4 runs.

Full and on off, tapped gently off the front foot to point.

Short outside off, Shahidi punches it to cover-point, fails to pierce the gap.

On the fourth stump, Shah eases the length ball to cover-point.

On the stumps, on a length. Rahmat whisks it to the left of deep square leg for a couple of runs.

A needless miscommunication in the middle! Very full on off, Shahidi smashes it to mid off. Najmul Hossain Shanto fumbles and the ball parries to the deep. Both batters hesitate, once, twice, thrice, before eventually crossing over for a single.

On a good length, around off, Shahidi guides it to the rigth of short third. A diving stop there by the fielder denies the single.

Spins away, on a length, Shahidi cuts it to backward point.

Short, outside off, left alone.

It seems like the ball has gone out of condition and the umpires are having a look at it. With just one more over left before choosing one of the two balls for the remainder of the contest, the fourth umpire comes out with a box os used balls and one of them is selected to be used in this over.

Another short ball, outside off, Shahidi cuts it along the ground to deep point for one more.

Shortish delivery, outside off, Rahmat backs away and cuts it through cover-point for one run.

Flat and full, drilled back to the bowler.

Fractionally full on middle, Shah goes low on his knee and sweeps it to deep backward square leg for two more. 10 runs needed as 150 comes up for Afghanistan.

Pushed full on leg, Shah advances and knocks it to a straightish mid-wicket.

Shortish delivery, outside off, Shahidi cuts it behind point for an easy single.