The Parvez Hossain Emon 70 was the one bright spot for Bangladesh in an otherwise forgettable outing against Afghanistan in Sharjah on Wednesday. The 24-year-old’s career-best 70 off 96 balls, made in a losing cause, could not stop Afghanistan from winning by seven wickets and reaching the final of the UAE ODI Tri-Series. The Parvez Hossain Emon 70 stood out as the innings of the match, even as Bangladesh’s batting collapsed around him.
Bangladesh needed to beat Afghanistan by at least 41 runs to qualify for the final, but after winning the toss and opting to bat, they were bowled out for 160 in 41.2 overs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium despite the Parvez Hossain Emon 70. Afghanistan chased the target down in 35.3 overs, reaching 161 for three with 87 balls to spare, and will now meet Zimbabwe in Friday’s final.
Parvez Hossain Emon 70: the innings that held Bangladesh up
Bangladesh were in deep trouble at 28 for four inside seven overs when Emon walked in. Tanzid Hasan fell for 1, Soumya Sarkar went for a golden duck, and captain Towhid Hridoy and Najmul Hossain Shanto departed cheaply as Yamin Ahmadzai and Azmatullah Omarzai ripped through the top order.
The Parvez Hossain Emon 70 was built on a 93-run partnership for the fifth wicket with opener Saif Hassan, who made 41 from 82 deliveries. The pair batted patiently, rotated the strike and punished the loose balls to lift the score to 121. When Saif fell attempting a big shot against Mohammad Nabi, Emon took responsibility and carried the innings past 150 on his own.
The Parvez Hossain Emon 70 included five fours and two sixes, and it was only his second ODI fifty in what was his fourth appearance in the format. In four matches, he has now amassed 178 runs at an average of 44.5, with his only other fifty coming against Sri Lanka. Emon, who keeps wicket for Bangladesh, owns 20 fifties in List A cricket with seven hundreds and 3,256 runs, according to Cricinfo. He eventually fell to Rashid Khan, and Bangladesh’s innings ended soon after.
Saif’s dismissal at 121 started another slide. Mehidy Hasan Miraz fell cheaply, Shoriful Islam made 7 before being bowled by Rashid, and Emon departed with the score at 156, ending the Parvez Hossain Emon 70 resistance. Rashid then dismissed Aliss Al Islam and Mustafizur Rahman in consecutive deliveries as Bangladesh were bowled out for 160.
How Rashid Khan ended the Parvez Hossain Emon 70 resistance
Rashid Khan claimed four wickets for 31 runs in 8.2 overs and was the chief destroyer for Afghanistan. Yamin Ahmadzai took two for 21 and Azmatullah Omarzai took two for 27 as Afghanistan’s bowlers kept the pressure on throughout. After Saif’s dismissal, Bangladesh lost their last five wickets for 39 runs, with Rashid dismissing Aliss Al Islam and Mustafizur Rahman in consecutive deliveries to finish the innings.
Captain Towhid Hridoy admitted after the match that the early batting failures had cost his side. “As a batting unit, we made mistakes. At the beginning, we lost a couple of wickets. I think that was the main reason,” he said. Hridoy added that Bangladesh had missed out badly on a good batting surface: “To be honest, we missed 100 runs. That wicket was a very good wicket, a decent one to bat on.” Hridoy stressed that Bangladesh must improve at the top of the order to post competitive totals. “We need to score runs at the top. Otherwise, you cannot sustain,” he said.
Afghanistan chase down 161 to reach the final
Afghanistan also lost early wickets in the chase. Taskin Ahmed dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal to reduce the visitors to 39 for two, and Mustafizur Rahman then had Ibrahim Zadran caught for 34 to make it 95 for three. But captain Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi steadied the innings with an unbroken 66-run partnership to guide Afghanistan home comfortably.
Rahmat scored 67 not out off 90 balls, while Shahidi remained unbeaten on 36 from 54 deliveries. Taskin finished with two wickets, but Bangladesh could not make further inroads as Afghanistan completed a convincing victory. Despite the Parvez Hossain Emon 70, Bangladesh’s campaign ended without a win, following their earlier defeat to Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan will face Zimbabwe in Friday’s final.