(ESPN) Bangladesh overcame a scare to beat Afghanistan by two wickets in the first T20I in Sylhet. Down to 64 for 4 in a chase of 155, Bangladesh owed their turnaround to Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain, whose 73-run stand put them in a comfortable position. But with two needed off the last five balls, pacer Karim Janat took a hat-trick to keep Afghanistan in the game with Hridoy stuck at the non-striker’s end. Shoriful Islam, at No.10, then took Bangladesh home with a cracking cut shot for four.
Six runs were needed from the final over when Mehidy Hasan Miraz crunched a cover drive off the first delivery, before throwing his wicket away with a pull to midwicket. Taskin Ahmed was caught behind the following ball, and Nasum Ahmed top-edged a catch to deep third as Janat completed the hat-trick. Hridoy was unbeaten on 47 off 32 balls with three fours and two sixes and did not face a ball in that final over.
Earlier, Mohammad Nabi’s fifth half-century in T20Is lifted Afghanistan to a modest total from 52 for 4. He made 54 off 40 with six fours and a six. Azmatullah Omarzai struck a 18-ball 33 with four sixes as the pair added 56 for the sixth wicket in 5.1 overs.