Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by seven wickets at Sharjah on October 21, eliminating Bangladesh from the UAE ODI Tri-Series and booking a final against Zimbabwe at the same venue on October 23. It is Afghanistan's second win of the tournament, following on from their earlier victory over Zimbabwe in the group stage.
Bangladesh's batting fell apart early against the new ball, with reports putting them at 28 for 4 inside the first seven overs as Yamin Ahmadzai and Azmatullah Omarzai removed the top order. Parvez Hossain Emon's 70 and Saif Hassan's 41 provided some late-order resistance, but Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 160, with Rashid Khan finishing with 4 for 31.
Afghanistan's reply was comfortable from the start. Rahmat Shah finished unbeaten on 67 off 90 balls and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi added an unbeaten 36, with the pair taking Afghanistan to 161 for 3 with 87 balls still unused for a seven-wicket win.
Bangladesh are now out of contention after losing both their group matches, having also gone down by 99 runs to Zimbabwe in the tournament opener. That result sets up a final between the two sides already familiar with each other from the group stage, with Afghanistan heading in as the form side after two wins from two, while Zimbabwe will look to their own earlier form to turn the tables in the title match.
Afghanistan face Zimbabwe in the final at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 23, with Afghanistan's spin-heavy attack, led by Rashid Khan, likely to be the key battle against a Zimbabwe batting order that has shown it can be undone early.
With Afghanistan's top order and bowling attack both firing, picks from their side carry the safer floor for the final, though Zimbabwe's middle order has shown enough fight in this tournament to be worth a differential pick or two.
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Scores and figures in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting as of October 22, 2026.
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