Live Cricket Score: Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, 3rd ODI

Nahid Rana to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Another one on the shorter side and outside off. Not played at. 

Nahid Rana to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shortish and outside off. Left alone. 

Shoriful Islam to Sediqullah Atal, Outside off. Length again. This is guided to point. 

Shoriful Islam to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Around off. Length. Gurbaz looks to defend, this goes off the inner half down to fine leg for one. 

Shoriful Islam to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shortish and outside off. Gurbaz chops it on the off side. 

Shoriful Islam to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, SIX! What a shot that is! Wow! Rahmanullah Gurbaz takes a few steps down the track and makes it into a half volley. He just lifts it over the mid-wicket fence and it goes all the way. 

Shoriful Islam to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Good length and on middle. Gurbaz pushes it to mid on. 

Shoriful Islam to Sediqullah Atal, Outside off. Atal opens the face of the bat and guides it down to third man for one. 

Nahid Rana to Sediqullah Atal, On middle. Atal works it towards mid on and gets to the other end. 

Nahid Rana to Sediqullah Atal, Back of a length and around off. Atal stays back and defends. 

Nahid Rana to Sediqullah Atal, Two! Angled into the pads. Atal works it through square leg. Two taken. 

Nahid Rana to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Quick run! On middle. Length. This is pushed to mid on for a single. 

Nahid Rana to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hits the deck hard! Around off. Extra bounce. Gurbaz stands tall and defends. 

Nahid Rana to Sediqullah Atal, On the pads. Atal looks to flick but misses. This hits the pad and rolls on the leg side. A leg bye taken. 

Nahid Rana to Sediqullah Atal, This is very wide outside off. Left alone. Wided. 

The debutant, Nahid Rana will share the attack.

Shoriful Islam to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, FOUR! Off the inner half but a boundary. First of the chase and the last ball spoils the over somewhat! On middle. Gurbaz steps out. There is a little bit of swing in. He swings but this goes off the inner half past square leg for a boundary. 

Shoriful Islam to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, On middle. Good length. Blocked. 

Shoriful Islam to Sediqullah Atal, Atal is off the mark now! Length and outside off. This is guided down to third man for one. 

Shoriful Islam to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Afghanistan and Gurbaz are underway! Fullish and around off. This is driven just wide of mid off for one. 

Shoriful Islam to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Length again and on off. Gurbaz lunges and keeps it out. 

Shoriful Islam to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Length and around off. Defended. 

We are back for the all-important chase in this decider! The players are already out in the middle. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal are the two openers for Afghanistan. Shoriful Islam to start te proceedings with the ball. Here we go...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

So, 245 is what Afghanistan needs to win to clinch this 3 ODI series. In modern-day cricket, this is very much a gettable total. But the way the batters have struggled while chasing in this series at Sharjah, it hangs well in the balance and it is anyone's game to win from here. Given how Afghanistan's top order has struggled, it will be a huge responsibility on the shoulders of someone like Rahmanullah Gurbaz who is yet to produce a match-winning knock in this series up top. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will be aiming to dominate the first Powerplay and set the tone with the ball. Stay tuned, as a riveting run chase is up next very shortly.

Najmul Hossain Shanto is up for a short interview. He says that he is very happy with the batting effort. Adds that the way they batted in the first 10 overs was great but then lost wickets in clusters. Mentions that Miraz and Mahmudullah did a commendable job with that record-breaking partnership. Says that Miraz showed calmness when they lost all the wickets and he is a bit disappointed that Mahmudullah couldn't score the ton. Tells that there is a bit of seam movement under lights and he thinks they have enough runs on the board. Ends by saying that he is feeling a bit uncomfortable with the groin injury but should be fine.

With wickets in hand, the experienced duo of Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan seized the initiative in the final overs. They went on the offensive, upping the ante and accelerating the run rate. The fifth-wicket stand of 145 runs between the two proved to be the cornerstone of Bangladesh's innings. In the final ten overs, Bangladesh shifted gears, notching up 90 runs while losing 4 wickets towards the backend. Mahmudullah led the charge, falling just shy of a century on 98 but powered Bangladesh to a formidable total. While the other Afghan bowlers struggled to make inroads, Azmatullah Omarzai stood out with a brilliant four-wicket haul, finishing with career-best figures giving away just 5 runs in the final over.

Nonetheless, the experienced Mahmudullah joined forces with his skipper Mehidy Hasan and the duo managed to weather the storm. They bossed up the 21-40 over phase, going unscathed and ensuring Bangladesh's innings did not completely unravel. Yes, Rashid Khan and the other spinners prevented regular boundaries but the two milked singles and doubles to keep the scorecard ticking along. Both of them paced their innings well, negotiating the barrage of spin with a touch of class. 

Just when the openers looked settled, Azmatullah Omarzai was introduced into the attack and broke the shackles for Afghanistan. Just in a matter of time, both Bangladeshi openers were back into the hut and Bangladesh were reduced from a comfortable 53/0 to 58/3 in the span of just 13 deliveries and the dot balls added an extra bit of pressure on the incoming batters. On a mission to rebuild, skipper Mehidy Hasan and Towhid Hridoy tried to steer through the storm in the second Powerplay. But their progress was halted when Rashid Khan struck in his very first over. The lack of boundaries for an extended period of 50 balls, further compounded the pressure on the Bangladesh batters.

Bangladesh decided to have the first crack with the bat on a fresh surface. The ball initially came off well onto the bat. Tanzid Hasan and Soumya Sarkar were alert for the most part and struck boundaries on any loosener offered to them and added brisk 50 runs together. The Afghan bowlers struggled to find their rhythm initially, with Fazalhaq Farooqi in particular bowling some 'genuine friendlies' that the Bangladeshi batters were able to take advantage of. The Afghan fielders also let down their team, dropping a couple of chances early on, which allowed the Bangladesh openers to maintain their momentum. 

Such an anti-climatic end for Mahmudullah after playing a gem of a knock for his nation. And more so, it was a blockbuster first half of the series decider, to say the least. Bangladesh finish at 244 on the board and would be the happier side of the two walking to the sheds. It was a fresh pitch but, the template has been the same, as the first inning score almost mirrors the scores from the first two ODIs.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Mahmudullah, OUT! RUN OUT! No, he can't! Azmatullah Omarzai pitches it up, on middle, Mahmudullah swipes it away towards deep square leg and turns around for the second run. Rahmat Shah is quick to collect the ball and throws it to the keeper's end where Rahmanullah Gurbaz does the rest. Mahmudullah is well short of his crease but has played a terrific knock of 98 runs off 98 balls. Bangladesh finishes on 244/8!

Azmatullah Omarzai to Shoriful Islam, Back of a length and on off, Shoriful Islam dabs it to point for another quick one. The fielder misses again and Mahmudullah makes his ground. Bangladesh cannot reach 250 barring any extras, but can Mahmudullah score a hundred in Sharjah?

Azmatullah Omarzai to Mahmudullah, Back of a length and on middle, Mahmudullah heaves it away towards deep square leg for just one.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Shoriful Islam, Fuller and on middle, Shoriful Islam steers it towards point and sets off for the run. The fielder missed his shy at the batter's end or else Mahmudullah was a goner.

Shoriful Islam is the new batter in at number 9.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Nasum Ahmed, OUT! BOWLED'EM! Azmatullah Omarzai has four now! More importantly, it is a dot ball and Mahmudullah remains off strike. He cleverly takes pace off, on a length and on middle. Nasum Ahmed makes room and swings wildly across the line but goes through it way early. He misses the ball completely as it rattles the stumps. Can Bangladesh reach the 250-run mark in the next 4 balls?

Azmatullah Omarzai to Mahmudullah, Hard length and on middle, angling in, Mahmudullah misses his flick as the ball goes off his pads towards short fine. The batters crosses for a leg bye.

Azmatullah Omarzai to bowl the final over of the first innings.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Mahmudullah, Mahmudullah retains the strike for the last over! Pitched up and on off, Mahmudullah goes for the reverse sweep but misses and the ball goes off his pads towards point. A leg bye is taken. There is also an appeal for LBW, but the umpire says no. Afghanistan takes the review though. UltraEdge confirms no bat involved and Ball Tracking shows that impact is outside off. Afghanistan lose a review!

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Mahmudullah, Full toss once more, on off, Mahmudullah moves across and whips it wide of deep square leg for a brace. He moves to 96 now!

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Nasum Ahmed, Another full toss, on off, Nasum Ahmed bunts it down to mid off for a quick one. Hashmatullah Shahidi picks up but decides not to throw as there was no one backing up.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Mahmudullah, Good stop! A full toss around off, Mahmudullah carves it wide of point where Rashid Khan dives to his left to make a brilliant stop. He certainly saves three runs for his time as the batters get just one.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Mahmudullah, SIX! Up, up and away! Fazalhaq Farooqi serves this full and right in the slot, on middle. Mahmudullah throws the kitchen sink at it and whacks it way over the deep mid-wicket fence for a biggie. He moves into the 90s now!

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Nasum Ahmed, Change of pace, full and around off, Nasum Ahmed drags it away towards deep mid-wicket for a single.

Fazalhaq Farooqi (6-0-30-0) to bowl the penultimate over.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Mahmudullah, Slower one, on a length and outside off, Mahmudullah moves across and goes through his slog early. Gets a bottom edge as the ball rolls to the keeper.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Nasum Ahmed, Pitched up and angling into leg, Nasum Ahmed clips it through mid-wicket for a run.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Nasum Ahmed, Touch fuller and around leg, Nasum Ahmed swipes it wide of deep square leg and comes back for the second run. AM Ghazanfar is a bit lazy to get to the ball and Omarzai is not happy with the effort.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Nasum Ahmed, Short of a length and on middle, Nasum Ahmed blocks it on the pitch.