Bangladesh bowlers, led by left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam, bowled in ruthless manner to help the side avoid a whitewash as the Tigers secured a facile seven-wicket victory in the third and final game on Tuesday at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
Shoriful claimed 4-21, his best bowling figure in his small career and was ably supported by the fellow bowlers, who kept the things tight, maintaining the line and length impeccably unlike the first two matches which Afghanistan won almost effortlessly to clinch a first ever ODI series against Bangladesh.
But in third match, it was not a cake-walk as Afghanistan failed to overcome a stern test offered by Bangladeshi bowlers, to be skittled out for 126 in 45.2 overs.
Only Azmatullah Omarzai battled it hard to score a stubborn 56, an innings that gave the scoreboard some respectability.
Captain Liton Das then ended his bad patch with 53 not out as Bangladesh raced to 129-3 in 23.3 overs to confirm the victory.
Afghanistan won the rain-hit first match by 17 runs and the second one by 142-run which was their biggest ever victory by runs against Bangladesh.
Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, the other two changes of Bangladesh alongside Shoriful, picked up two wickets apiece to further trouble Afghanistan as its captain Hashmatullah Shahidi chose to bat first, eying a clean sweep.
Taskin and Shoriful asked tough question right from the words go with the latter swung the ball brilliantly to strike twice in his first over.
He got the better of Ibrahim Zadran, the centurion of previous match and Rahmat Shah-both edged behind with single digit figure.
Taskin then undid Rahamanullah Gurbaz (6) who hammered 145 in the last match, with a short delivery that the opener only could top-edge.
However there was no respite for Afghanistan as Shoriful again struck, changing his angle brilliantly to claim the wicket of Mohammad Nabi as the visitors were left to 15-4.
Spinners then got into act with left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan trapping Najibullah Zadran leg-before (10) before his fellow spinner Taijul Islam spun one past Hashmatullah Shahidi viciously to rattle his stump. Shahidi's 22 was the next best to Omarzai's half-century.
Omarzai resisted amid Bangladesh bowlers fiery bowling and hit one four and three sixes in his 71-ball-knock.
He combined for a 36-run with Mujeeb-ur-Rahman for the ninth wicket, the highest in Afghanistan innings to propel the side past 100.
Omarzai was the last batter out when he top-edged a slower delivery of Taskin at long-on.
Mohammad Naim Shiekh who replaced Tamim Iqbal fell for a duck against pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi after facing eight balls to give Bangladesh a disappointing start to a small chase.
Naim, who was considered as back up opener, also was out in single digit figure in the first match, meaning a chance in the World Cup squad now got tougher for him.
Farooqi who had figures of 2-26 and claimed eight wickets in the three ODIs to be adjudged man of the series, further gave the side a ray of hope, dismissing Najmul Hossain for 11 with Bangladesh at 28-2.
But a 61-run partnership between Liton and Shakib for the third wicket edged Bangladesh closer.
Left-arm spinner Nabi only reduced the margin of the defeat, getting rid of Shakib after he scored run-a-ball-39.
Liton then pulled off spinner Mujeeb for a boundary over mid-wicket to raise his 10th fifty off 57 balls before Towhid Hridoy who was not out on 22, cut debutant Ziaur-ur-Rahman past point for a boundary to bring the victory.
The two sides will play a two-match T20 series at Sylhet with the first match on Friday.
