World Cup 2023: All-round Bangladesh thump Afghanistan by six wickets in Dharamsala

Bangladesh dished out a comprehensive all-round performance against Afghanistan to open their 2023 ICC World Cup campaign with a six-wicket victory in Dharamsala on Saturday. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table Mehidy Hasan Miraz led the way with a solid all-round performance, producing a half-century (57 off 73 balls) after helping the Tigers restrict the Afghan Atalans to 156 with a spell of 3/25. He then shared a 97-run third-wicket stand with Najmul Hossain Shanto worth 97 that helped Bangladesh recover from a shaky start in their chase of the modest target. Shanto too brought up his half-century and remained unbeaten on 59 with senior wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim unbeaten on 2 for company as Bangladesh strolled home with more than 15 overs to spare. This match also saw Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan inflict more World Cup damage on Afghanistan, the left-arm spinner taking 3-30 while his bowling changes yielded wickets. Afghanistan, relatively well-placed at 47-1 and 112-2 after being sent into bat by Shakib, lost their last eight wickets for 44 runs. Shakib, who in the corresponding World Cup fixture four years ago took 5-29 in Bangladesh’s 62-run win, made the initial breakthrough Saturday when he had Ibrahim Zadran caught on the sweep. Several Afghanistan batsmen gave their wickets away, with only opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (47) offering much resistance. But Gurbaz, who made 145 in a one-day international against Bangladesh in July, fell when, seemingly frustrated at the lack of support from the other end, he holed out off paceman Mustafizur Rahman to Tanzid Hasan in the covers. Afghanistan’s plight was summed up when tailender Mujeeb Ur Rahman walked out to bat without wearing a box or athletic protector. Bangladesh stumbled early on in their chase. Tanzid Hasan was run out by Najibullah Zadran and the Tigers were 27-2 when Liton Das played on to paceman Fazalhaq Farooqi. But Afghanistan, who needed to take every chance when defending such a low total, then saw Najibullah drop Mehidy on 12, when he floored a regulation catch at backward point. Mehidy was missed again on 23 when he uppercut Naveen-ul-Haq only for Mujeeb to drop a one-handed catch at deep third man when he could have could have gone for the ball with both hands. Mehidy punished those lapses with a 58-ball fifty including four fours. He then survived a close lbw appeal from Mujeeb following a prolonged review before he was brilliantly caught one-handed by a leaping Rahmat Shah at mid-off to end a third-wicket partnership of 97. But by then Bangladesh were in sight of victory. Najmul, having already hit Mujeeb for six, went on to an 80-ball fifty. He finished the match with successive fours, the second coming from a fumble at mid-off, as he continued an impressive 2023 where he is averaging nearly 55 in ODI cricket. With inputs from AFP