Bangladesh and Afghanistan split the title after rain disrupts the final

Rashid-Khan-T20-Cricket-Profile

Share this story



The championship match of the tri-series T20 tournament between Afghanistan and Bangladesh had to be called off due to weather, resulting in the two sides sharing the title.

Tuesday's final at Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium was a complete washout, with the weather preventing a single ball from being delivered.

Since there was no backup date scheduled for the final, the tournament rules dictated that both teams would be crowned joint winners if no result was possible.

Match officials officially called the game off at 9:00 PM local time (5:00 PM SA time); the rain was simply too heavy to stop, leaving no chance for even a shortened version of the match.

As a result, the trophy was shared, marking the first time Bangladesh has won a multi-team T20 tournament.

The bad weather put an end to a rollercoaster tournament for both sides. Bangladesh had been strong, winning three out of four league games, whereas Afghanistan started hot with two wins before dropping their next two.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan admitted he was gutted that the players didn't get to compete, noting how much the team had been looking forward to this specific final.

Al Hasan also reflected on their performance, mentioning that while they hadn't played their absolute best throughout the series, they had definitely found their rhythm as they approached the final.

Afghanistan's captain, Rashid Khan, praised the incredible loyalty of the fans who stayed in the stands through the rain, hoping for a game to start.

While praising his squad for their hard work during the tournament, Khan expressed his frustration that they were robbed of a final by bad luck and poor weather.

The player of the tournament award went to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who impressed with 133 runs across four games. Zimbabwe was the third team competing in the series.

After falling short in three previous finals, Bangladesh finally secured a multi-team tournament victory on their home turf in Mirpur.

Rain had already plagued a Test match earlier this month, and similar stormy conditions persisted, making a clear window for play unlikely.