Afghanistan demonstrated tremendous resilience to ensure they held on for a draw against Bangladesh in the one-off Test match in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Afghanistan batters survived a challenging day five while in their chase a big target of 479 runs. At stumps on Day 5, they finished 346/8, with a fighting knock of 49 runs from Qais Ahmad helping Afghanistan frustrate Bangladesh's bowling attack.
Earlier, Sediqullah Atal and Rahmat Shah, firing 111 and 51, respectively, provided the team a promising start, but Bangladesh bowlers too remained defiant in their bowling attack, not allowing Afghanistan batters to capitalise on a good start. Meanwhile, earlier, after deciding to bat, Bangladesh posted 346 runs in their opening innings, with their openers Shadman Islam and Tanzid Hasan proving solid help with the knocks of 67 and 83, respectively.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, managed 240 runs in their first innings, trailing by 106 runs. Their captain, Rahmat Shah, leading the side in his first Test as captain, led from the front, slamming an outstanding century that made their innings a little easier for the side. In their second, however, Bangladesh solidified their position, piling up 372/7 before declaring. In Bangladesh’s second innings, Litton Das shone with a fluent century, putting Bangladesh in massive command of the game.