27 Nov 2010

Bangladesh beat Afghanistan to claim gold

6:28 am on 27 November 2010

Teenager Shabbir Rahaman Roman smashed two sixes in the penultimate over to help Bangladesh to a first Asian Games gold and dash Afghanistan's hopes of a fairytale finish in the men's cricket final.

Chasing Afghanistan's 118, the 17-year-old's swashbuckling 33 not out swung the Twenty20 match in Bangladesh's favour and they won with three balls to spare, sparking wild celebrations as players rushed with billowing flags on to the ground and embraced.

The Afghan cricketers, mostly ethnic Pashtun from the country's southeast, were stonefaced after the loss.

With the country's expectations weighing heavily on Afghan shoulders to bring home a first Asian Games gold, their opening batsmen appeared nervous at the crease and couldn't post enough runs on the board to hold out the charging Bangladesh.