Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored centuries to guide Bangladesh to an 89-run win over Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The victory keeps Bangladesh’s hope of qualifying for the Super-4 stage alive.
Asia Cup 2023: Points Table
Bangladesh captain, Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and opted to bat first. In a surprising move, Bangladesh sent all-rounder Mehidy Hasan to open the batting alongside Mohammad Naim.
After getting off to a positive start, Bangladesh were dealt a quick double blow with Mujeeb ur Rahman dismissing Naim in the last ball of the 10th over and veteran spin-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Nabi sending Towhid Hridoy in the very next over, to leave the Bangla Tigers reeling at 60 for 2.
Despite losing two early wickets, Bangladesh managed to regain control thanks to the solid partnership between Mehidy Hasan and Shanto. The two batters stitched a massive 194-run partnership to turn the game on its head.
Mehdi Hasan brought up his second ODI century in the 41st over and looked at his destructive best when he hit Mujeeb for a six down the ground but a cramp forced him to retire hurt. He scored 112 runs off 119 deliveries, smashing seven boundaries and three sixes.
Shanto then went on to complete his second ODI century in the 43rd over before being run-out by Najibullah Zadran. Shanto scored 104 runs off 105 balls, smashing nine boundaries and two sixes. With this knock, Shanto took his Asia Cup run-tally to 193 runs, having scored 89 runs in Bangladesh’s loss against Sri Lanka earlier this week.
Veteran wicket-keeping batter Mushfiqur Rahman played a short cameo towards the end as Bangladesh posted 334 for 5 on the scoreboard after 50 overs.
Gurbaz fails to fire
Bangladesh started off the second innings on the front-foot with pacer Shoriful Islam getting rid of the dangerous Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the second over. However, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah pulled the Afghans back in the match with a 78-run stand.
Shah scored 33 runs off 57 balls before being cleaned up by fast-bowler Taskin Ahmed in the 18th over. Then Zadran and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi stitched another important partnership worth 52 runs before Zadran fell at the hands of Hasan Mahmud after scoring 75 runs off 74 balls.
Afghanistan then lost the wickets of Zadran and Shahidi in quick succession as Bangladesh pulled the game back. Nabi, Gulbadin Naib and Karim Janat could not move the scoreboard much and were dismissed after scoring 3, 15 and 1 respectively.
Rashid Khan tried to get Afghanistan back in the contest with some power-hitting but his effort came too little too late. Taskin went on to dismiss Rashid in the 45th over to bundle Afghanistan for 245 runs, winning the match by 89 runs.
This win over Afghanistan keeps Bangladesh’s hope of qualifying for the Super-4 stage alive. All eyes will now be on Sri Lanka’s match against Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on September 5.
