How much will the graph of Bangladesh cricket go down?

After nightmares against India and South Africa, Bangladesh cricket fans were hopeful for a rebound in ODIs against the statistically weaker Afghanistan. But due to poor batting and ugly fielding, Bangladesh not only suffered a 2-1 series defeat but also fell below Afghanistan in the latest ICC rankings.

Examining Bangladesh's batting performances throughout the series, they appeared to be in control in the first ODI when they bowled out Afghanistan for 235 and reached 120 for 2. Yet, a collapse saw them lose their last eight wickets for just 23 runs, which resulted in a 92-run defeat. In the second ODI, they posted 252 runs, with Najmul Hossain Shanto scoring 76, supported by Jaker Ali (37) and Nasum Ahmed (25). In the final ODI, Bangladesh managed only 93 runs from overs 15 to 40, though they didn't lose a wicket within those 25 overs.

The openers couldn't set a solid foundation even for once as Tanzid Tamim and Soumya Sarkar falled to score above 35 for once. Tawhid Hridoy also struggled, who scored only 11, 11 and seven runs across the three matches. Injuries to Mushfiqur Rahim and Shanto further weakened the team, with Zakir Hasan stepping in for Shanto in the last match. Zakir became run out for four runs.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz batted at number 4 in all three matches. Although his scores of 28, 22, and 66 weren't exceptional, but those figures hinted that he could potentially fill Shakib Al Hasan's role in the batting lineup. Mahmudullah, after a string of low scores (0, 1, 2 and 3), played a crucial 98-run innings in the last match, though he fell on the final ball.

In the final game, a target of 244 at Sharjah was challenging. Yet, Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azmatullah Omarzai played brilliantly and led their team to a five-wicket victory with 10 balls remaining. After Afghanistan lost their first three wickets for 84 runs, Gurbaz and Omarzai built a crucial 100-run partnership. Gurbaz scored 101 runs, benefiting from multiple missed chances including dropped catches, missed stumpings and run-out opportunities. Mohammad Nabi also played a significant role with an unbeaten 34 off 27 balls.

For Bangladesh, debutant Nahid Rana impressed with his pace, delivering at 151 km/h and taking two wickets. Mustafizur Rahman also took two wickets, while Miraz claimed one.

Following this series defeat, Bangladesh dropped from 8th to 9th in the ICC ODI rankings, while Afghanistan climbed from 9th to 8th. Both teams now have 85 rating points but Bangladesh lags by a fraction.