The 19th over began with Afghanistan needing 20 runs to win and Bangladesh's Rubel Hossain bowling to Mohammad Nabi, and a sequence of 4, 6, dot, 4 and 6 was all that was needed for the home side to clinch the three-match series 2-0 with a six-wicket win in the second T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun yesterday.
It was the same pitch as the one used for the first game, which Afghanistan won by 45 runs, and Afghanistan had no problem whatsoever to register their fourth T20I bilateral series win against a Test-playing nation, and first against Bangladesh.
Unlike the first match, Bangladesh managed to put up a fight for most of the game, having lifted Afghanistan's required run rate up to 10 an over, but they ultimately paid the price for a subpartotal of 134 for eight.
Samiullah Shenwari top-scored with 49 off 41 balls with two fours and three sixes while the experienced Nabi took his side across the finish line and remained unbeaten on 31 off just 15 balls, an innings studded with three fours and two sixes. There were some creditable bowling displays from Bangladesh - young off-spinner Mosaddek Hossain took two for 21 from three overs, left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam gave away just 14 runs from four overs and rookie pacer Abu Hider bowled spiritedly to pick up one for 14 from three overs.
But it was poor bowling from skipper Shakib Al Hasan - who was taken for 37 runs from four wicket-less overs - and Rubel, who leaked 38 from 3.5 overs for the wicket of Usman Ghani, that undid the youngsters' good work.
Before all that, it was again Afghanistan's top-ranked leg-spinner Rashid Khan who made the difference, proving once again why he was at the centre of pre-series discussions.
It was the 16th over of the Bangladesh innings, bowled by Rashid, which changed the course of the game. It yielded three wickets and helped give Rashid figures of 12 for four from four overs.
Before Rashid was introduced into the attack, Bangladesh were 81 for three in 10 overs after Shakib won the toss for the second time in the series and elected to bat, announcing two changes to the team - Hider and Soumya Sarkar coming in for Abu
Jayed and Abul Hasan.
Having bowled two overs without a wicket, Rashid began the 16th of the innings by having his Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate Shakib - who came in to bat at number six after the dismissal of Mahmudullah Riyad, bowled by Karim Janat - caught at long on offa bigheave forjust three.
Opener Tamim Iqbal - who started the innings at the non-striker's end for the first time in three years -was then the only hope but he too departed for a 48-ball 43 in the fourth ball of the over when he slog-swept all around a googly and had his stumps rattled.
New batsman Mosaddek then had no clue about the googly he faced first ball and was caught plumb in front. The 19-year-old Rashid's maiden T20 hattrick was denied, just about, by an uncertain defensive prod from Hider that landed just in front of short leg.
The leg-spin wizard bagged another wicket, that of Soumya (3), in his last over.
Bangladesh were never able to recover from that, although Hider's quickfire 21 off 14 balls - incidentally more runs in one innings than Soumya's last four innings combined -- helped the Tigers add 26 runs in the last two overs of the innings and gave the innings some respectability.
Earlier, the start was also not very bright from Bangladesh as opener Liton Das departed off the first ball of the second over and Sabbir Rahman -promoted to number three - shone briefly in a nine-ball 13 before holing out off Nabi in the fourth over. A 45-run partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim was ended when the former was stumped off Nabi in the 10th over, and even at 75 for three it seemed Bangladesh were going to put up a challenging score. But then Rashid struck in a performance that netted him a second player-of-the-match trophy in as many matches.