Towhid Hridoy authored a timely knock to help Bangladesh record a narrow two-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the first T20I, played in Sylhet on Friday.

Chasing a 155-run target, Bangladesh got home with just a ball to spare. Hridoy’s 32-ball 47 not out and his partnership of 73 off just 43 balls with Shamim Hossain (33 off 25 balls) did the trick for the hosts.

Afghanistan’s defence was not helped by the fact that wet ground conditions made it difficult for them to operate with a wet ball, something which captain Rashid Khan said after the game.

Asked to bat first, the Afghans were in trouble losing four wickets with just over 50 runs on the board. But former captain Mohammed Nabi steadied the ship, first with Najibullah Zadran and then with Azmatullah Omarzai. Nabi shared a 35-run partship with Najibullah and then an even better stand of 56 with Azmatullah. Nabi’s 40-ball 54 not out had six fours and a six in it.

In reply, Bangladesh too were off to a false start as none of their top four batters, including captain Shakib-al Hasan, crossed 20. But Hridoy and Shamim turned the match, before Afghan all-rounder Karim Janat gave the hosts a scare with three quick wickets.

But No.10 batter Shoriful Islam held his nerves to get the winning runs with a boundary off Janat.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 154/7 in 20 overs. Bangladesh 157/8 in 19.5 ovs. Bangladesh won by 2 wickets.