Sediqullah Atal’s (105 not out) is fighting a lone battle with a maiden Test hundred as Afghanistan chase 479 runs on the final day of their one-off Test match against Bangladesh on the final day at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. In the process, Atal also became the first Afghanistan cricketer to score a century in the fourth innings,
Batting first after winning the toss, posted 346. , in reply, managed 240, thus giving the visiting team a huge lead of 106 runs. In the second innings, Bangladesh got the upper hand, thanks to a hundred from wicketkeeper Litton Das, before declaring at 372/7.
In the fourth innings, Afghanistan need 479 runs to win the game. At the time of writing, Afghanistan are already six wickets down in the second session with less than 40 overs left in the game.
Despite being given a Test status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2017, Afghanistan have never been a member of World Test Championship (), certainly because of its ICC Test rankings. Ever since its inception in 2019, each edition of the WTC comprises of top nine ranked teams competing in 71 Test matches in total across 27 series in two years.
The final of each WTC cycle takes place between the top two teams in the standings after all the series are finished. According to the WTC rules, each of the nine teams will have to play three home and three away series. Interestingly, Afghanistan have never played Test series, except Zimbabwe.
Afghanistan’s first-ever Test match came in 2018 against India. Since then, Afghanistan played Test matches against Ireland, Bangladesh, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The only Test against New Zealand in 2024 in Greater Noida was abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled.
For the record, Afghanistan played two-Test series only twice in their history, both coming against Zimbabwe in away encounters. As a result, any Test match against Afghanistan, doesn’t count in WTC.
Clearly, any result – win, draw or lose – for Bangladesh will not have any effect on the latest WTC 2025-27 points table. Placed sixth in the ICC Test Rankings, Bangladesh sit fourth in the WTC standings with three wins, two losses and one draw in six games.
This is the third time Afghanistan are facing Bangladesh in a Test match. The first time Afghanistan played a Test match against Bangladesh was in 2019, which the former won by 224 runs in Chattogram. Bangladesh won the second game between the two sides in 2023 in Dhaka by 546 runs.
