The one-off Test between Afghanistan and Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi ended in a draw on day five, after Sediqullah Atal's maiden Test century and an unbeaten 49 from Qais Ahmad — sealed with a six off the final ball of the match — carried the hosts to 346 for 8 in pursuit of a target of 479. Bangladesh, needing just two more wickets with the second new ball available, could not find them before the target they had set on day four slipped out of reach.
Bangladesh won the toss and made 346 in the first innings, built on half-centuries from Tanzid Hasan (83), Shadman Islam (67) and Litton Das (53). Afghanistan's reply fell well short at 240, with Rahmat Shah's 105 and Karim Janat's 62 the only real resistance against Hasan Mahmud's 5 for 55. Bangladesh then declared their second innings on 372 for 7, with centurion Litton Das (102) supported by half-centuries from Najmul Hossain Shanto (82) and Mushfiqur Rahim (81), setting up the 479-run target and leaving Afghanistan needing to survive, or chase it down, across the final two days.
Afghanistan's rearguard was built almost entirely around Atal, who batted for well over eight hours across 332 balls for his 111, striking nine fours and three sixes along the way. He reached his century off 277 deliveries with a pull shot — becoming the first Afghan batter to score a Test century in the fourth innings of a match — before Taijul Islam finally had him caught behind with the score on 281 for 7 in the 119th over. Rahmat Shah added a second fifty of the match to keep the chase alive either side of Atal's dismissal.
With two wickets standing and overs running out, Qais Ahmad held firm alongside the tail to take the match to its final over. Taijul Islam, who had already dismissed Atal, bowled the 142nd and last over of the match; Qais met the final ball by launching it over deep midwicket for six, finishing unbeaten on 49 and confirming the draw as the light faded on a Test that had looked lost for Afghanistan for most of the final two sessions.
A draw salvaged from 281 for 7 chasing 479 is a result Afghanistan will treat as closer to a win than a loss, given how comfortably Bangladesh had controlled the match from the first-innings collapse onward. The Test, played at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, sits outside the World Test Championship cycle, but it adds to a growing body of competitive five-day cricket for an Afghanistan side still building its red-ball depth away from its regular T20I strength. For Bangladesh, the missed opportunity will sting more given the position of dominance their middle order built across days three and four.
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Scores, individual figures and the sequence of the final day in this article are verified against same-day reporting and a fresh, independent re-check of the scorecard as of October 14, 2026.
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