Afghanistan's bowling coach Hamid Hassan said that his side was one step ahead in terms of playing positive cricket, an aspect of their performance the former cricketer believes helped their cause in unsettling Bangladesh as the visitors cemented a maiden ODI series win over the Tigers. 

Afghanistan won the first ODI by 17 runs (DLS method) and registered a thumping 142-run victory in the second to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

"We played a little bit of positive cricket, one step ahead of Bangladesh maybe and that's why maybe Bangladesh couldn't catch our bowlers or batter and get them out early. That was maybe the key point. We thought one step ahead of Bangladesh and the result is there for you to see," Hassan told the media ahead of the third and final ODI on Monday.

"Beating Bangladesh in Bangladesh is not easy but behind that we worked really hard, we practised for five-six hours and the most important thing was believing in the team and the players and ourselves. That was the most important thing. If you believe in yourself and your team, you can beat anyone."

While the Afghanistan bowling attack in the form of Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, and Rashid Khan managed to put a stranglehold on the Bangladesh batters in both games, it was the batters, particularly Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who delivered a mauling to the Tigers in the second match.

The duo put together a 256-run opening stand, with Gurbaz smashing 13 fours and eight sixes for his 125-ball 145, while Zadran scored a steady 119-ball 100.

In the bowling scheme of things, Farooqi made the new ball talk as he put a leash on Bangladesh openers from one end, while from the other, Mujeeb managed to use his mystery to great effect, picking up early wickets to peg the Tigers back. 

Nabi stuck to his disciplined approach and as usual, all Bangladesh batters failed to get a read on premier Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan. 

With all the momentum in the bag, Hassan said that Afghanistan would look to continue on the positive approach they've shown and are thinking of taking the series 3-0.  

"Beating Bangladesh in Bangladesh is not an easy task. The boys did really well. Batting, bowling, and even fielding. So, altogether it was a team effort and that's why we got a very good result. Inshallah, hopefully, we win again tomorrow. We will play our positive cricket," he said.