Dharamshala, (UNI) Exceptional allround performance from Mehidy Hasan Miraz helped Bangladesh beat Afghanistan in their opening ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 encounter here on Saturday.
Mehidy first wreaked havoc alongside Shakib Al Hasan with the ball, and then revived Bangladesh chase from a precarious 27/2, with a 97-run stand with Najmul Hossain Shanto for third wicket.
A multi-layered performance saw Afghanistan bundled out for 156, and it was a cakewalk for Shakib’s side to register a victory in the 35th over.
Shakib (3/30), Mehidy (3/25), and Shoriful Islam (2/34) were pick of bowlers for Bangladesh. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz top-scored for Afghanistan with 47, but no support came from his teammates.
Defending a modest target of 157, Afghanistan snapped up two quick wickets of Tanzid Hasan (5) and Litton Das. They nearly had the third wicket when Mehidy was dropped off the bowling of Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Mehidy got yet another life in the 12th over, but made all use of it and rolled the Bangladesh innings forward.
By 20 overs, the all-rounder had clobbered 4 out of the 7 boundaries hit by Bangladesh. He added 97 runs for the third wicket with Shanto.
The curtains on a 57-run knock of Mehidy fell, courtesy a brilliant one-handed take from Rahmat Shah at mid-off. Nevertheless, Bangladesh were in the sight of a victory as Shanto reached his half-century in the 34th over.
The Afghanistan openers made a fast start and reached 47 without loss until Ibrahim Zadran (22) was caught off the bowling of Shakib following a mis-timed sweep into the deep.
Afghanistan were still well-placed at the end of the Powerplay on 50/1 with Gurbaz building a composed innings.
Rahmat Shah (18) joined Gurbaz at the crease and they took the score to 83 before Shakib struck again with the first ball after the drinks break.
Afghanistan looked set to make the most of a patient approach until Bangladesh hit back to dismiss Hashmatullah Shahidi (18) and then claim the big wicket of Gurbaz (47) both with the score on 112.
Afghanistan’s slide continued beyond the middle over mark. Shakib struck in the 29th over to clean up Najibullah Zadran. In the very next over, aggressive all-rounder Mohammed Nabi was bowled by Taskin Ahmed.
Afghanistan’s hopes then rested on their all-round star, Rashid Khan. And a 24-run stand for the seventh wicket seemed to stabilize the Afghanistan innings. However, Rashid’s loss in the 35th over to Mehidy Hasan Miraz, ended their resistance. The tail failed to wag, and added merely six runs after Rashid’s dismissal.
Brief scores: Afghanistan 156 all out in 37.2 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 47; Shakib al Hasan 3-30, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3-25) lost to Bangladesh 158/4 in 34.4 overs (Najmul Shanto 58*, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 57; Fazalhaq Farooqi 1-19) by 6 wickets.
