Bangladesh rout Afghanistan by six wickets in third T20 to sweep series

Saif Hassan smacked a whirlwind fifty after Mohammad Saifuddin took a three-wicket haul as Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan by six wickets in the third and the final T20I match to complete the whitewash at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

- Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Reporter

After restricting a struggling Afghanistan to 141/9, Bangladesh chased down the target with two overs to spare.

In reply, Bangladesh lost the first wicket for 24 runs but Tanzid and Saif shared a 56-run partnership for the second wicket to set the tone for a successful chase.

Saif added another 40 runs with captain Jaker Ali for the third wicket to take the match deeper before a double strike by Mujeeb once again ignited a brief optimism in the Afghanistan camp.

Mujeeb got rid of Jaker and Shamim on the successive deliveries to bring Afghanistan back into the game. The twin strike put Bangladesh under pressure who went into the defensive mode.

Bangladesh had lost six wickets within nine runs in the first match to put themselves into a precarious situation after a century stand for the first wicket.

To avoid a déjà vu, they slowed down for a while before Saif hit Bashir for two consecutive sixes to remove the pressure and put an end to Afghanistan's hopes of a come-from-behind victory.

He brought up his fourth fifty of the T20I with the second six in just 32 balls. He remained unbeaten on 64, which featured seven sixes and two fours.