Spinners, Najibullah take Afghanistan to Super 4s
Sharjah, Aug 30: A fine performance from the spinners and an impactful cameo from Najibullah Zadran helped Afghanistan record a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the Asia Cup here 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.
Ibrahim Zadran also contributed with 42 off 41 balls as he shared an unbeaten 69-run stand off 36 balls with Najibullah.
With their second win in as many games, Afghanistan also became the first team to qualify for the Super 4s.
Like Bangladesh, Afghanistan too found it hard to push the scoring rate.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan opened the bowling for Bangladesh and returned with impressive figures of 1 for 13 in four overs. The other bowlers too were accurate with Afghanistan batters not able to put them away.
After the fall of openers Hazratullah Zazai (23) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (11), Afghanistan found themselves needing 80 off the last 10 overs.
With the batters struggling to find the big hits, it seemed the game would go down to the wire. However, a barrage of sixes from Najibullah quickly change the course of the game.
It was only fitting that the left-hander finished the game with a six.
Earlier, Mossadek Hossain (48 not out off 31 balls) was the sole Bangladesh batter who played smartly and saved Bangladesh the blushes.
It was the pacers who rocked Sri Lanka in Afghanistan's earlier match but the team's traditional strength, the spin, wreaked havoc here as Mujeeb and Rashid shared three wickets each.
The spinners had a clear plan to target the stumps and Bangladesh batters chose to play cross-batted strokes against them, leading to their downfall.
Mujeeb broke the backbone of Bangladesh batting by striking thrice in the powerplay. He used the slider effectively to get through left-handed Mohammad Naim's (6) stumps before Anamul Haque (5) went for the slog sweep only to be trapped in front of the stumps.
Mujeeb's third scalp was of opposition skipper Shakib Al Hasan (11) who played a poor shot to see his stumps dislodged.
Number one spinner Rashid then joined the party by removing the seasoned Mushfiqur Rahim (1) with a googly. He got rid of left-handed Afif Hussain (12 off 15 balls) with a leg-break, leaving Bangladesh in dire straits at 53 for five. The quick pace both the spinners bowl at did not give the batters time to free their arms.
The experienced Mahmudullah (25) and Hossain tried to stabilise the innings but the damage was already done.
Medium pacer Azamatullah Omarzai was brought into the attack in the 20th over in which he did well to concede just seven runs.
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Nurse found murdered in Bengaluru’s Kumaraswamy Layout; police suspect she resisted robbery
Bengaluru: A 39-year-old nurse was found murdered at her residence in Kumaraswamy Layout in south Bengaluru, with police suspecting that she was killed while resisting a robbery.
The victim, identified as Mamatha, hailed from Hiriyur in Chitradurga district and was working at Jayadeva Hospital. She had been staying at a house in Pragathipura along with a colleague for the past two years, Deccan Herald reported.
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According to police, the incident occurred on Wednesday when Mamatha was alone at home. The assailants allegedly barged into the house, overpowered her, slit her throat with a sharp weapon and fled after robbing her gold chain.
Citing preliminary investigations, an officer said Mamatha likely resisted the robbery, as a broken piece of her gold chain was found at the crime scene suggested a scuffle at the crime scene.
The incident came to light the next evening after her family members asked the landlord to check on her when she did not answer phone calls.
The incident came to light on Thursday evening after Mamatha failed to respond to repeated phone calls from her family. Concerned relatives asked the landlord to check on her. Using a spare key, the landlord entered the house and found her lying in a pool of blood in the bedroom. He called the police.
Police have shifted the body for post-mortem and are undertaking further investigations to identify and trace the killers.Based on a complaint lodged by her brother Shankar, police have registered a case of murder.
