Bangladesh and Afghanistan started their campaign in World Cup 2023 at Dharamshala Cricket Stadium. It was the 3rd match of this ODI World Cup. Before this game, both these teams faced off each other in 2 games of the ODI World Cup. Bangladesh won both of them. So it was time for Afghanistan to break this losing streak in the Ban vs Afg World Cup match.
On the other hand, Bangladesh was also ready to clinch victory and start its journey with a win. It was the time for both contenders to announce themselves with triumph at this mega stage.
Let us delve into the encounter between both teams and discuss every detail of the match.
Scorecard
Afghanistan’s Innings
| BATTERS | Runs | Balls | Strike Rate | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz † | 47 | 62 | 75.8 | 4 | 1 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 22 | 25 | 88 | 3 | 1 |
| Rahmat Shah | 18 | 25 | 72 | 1 | 0 |
| Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) | 18 | 38 | 47.36 | 2 | 0 |
| Najibullah Zadran | 5 | 13 | 38.46 | 0 | 0 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 6 | 12 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 22 | 20 | 110 | 4 | 0 |
| Rashid Khan | 9 | 16 | 56.25 | 1 | 0 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 1 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | 8 | ||||
| TOTAL | 156 | ||||
| BOWLERS | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Economy Rate | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taskin Ahmed | 6 | 0 | 32 | 5.33 | 1 |
| Shoriful Islam | 6.2 | 1 | 34 | 5.36 | 2 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 7 | 1 | 28 | 4 | 1 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 8 | 0 | 30 | 3.75 | 3 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | 9 | 3 | 25 | 2.77 | 3 |
| Mahmudullah | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
Bangladesh’s Innings
| BATTERS | Runs | Balls | Strike Rate | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanzid Hasan | 5 | 13 | 38.46 | 1 | 0 |
| Litton Das | 13 | 18 | 72.22 | 2 | 0 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | 57 | 73 | 78.08 | 5 | 0 |
| Najmul Hossain Shanto | 59 | 83 | 71.08 | 3 | 1 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (c) | 14 | 19 | 73.68 | 2 | 0 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim † | 2 | 3 | 66.66 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | 8 | ||||
| TOTAL | 158/4 | ||||
| BOWLERS | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Economy Rate | Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 5 | 0 | 19 | 3.8 | 1 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 7 | 0 | 30 | 4.28 | 0 |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | 5.4 | 0 | 31 | 5.47 | 1 |
| Rashid Khan | 9 | 0 | 48 | 5.33 | 0 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 6 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 0 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4.5 | 1 |
Toss and Playing XI
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl. Both teams played with the following XI in their 1st match.
-
Afghanistan’s Playing XI
1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz
2. Ibrahim Zadran
3. Rahmat Shah
4. Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain)
5. Mohammad Nabi
6. Najibullah Zadran
7. Azmatullah Omarzai
8. Rashid Khan
9. Mujeeb Ur Rahman
10. Naveen-ul-Haq
11. Fazalhaq Farooqi
-
Bangladesh’s Playing XI
1. Litton Das
2. Tanzid Hasan
3. Najmul Hossain Shanto
4. Mehidy Hasan Miraz
5. Shakib Al Hasan (Captain)
6. Mushfiqur Rahim
7. Towhid Hridoy
8. Mahmudullah
9. Taskin Ahmed
10. Shoriful Islam
11. Mustafizur Rahman
Afghanistan’s Innings
A Solid Start
Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz solidly started the innings. After scoring 3 runs in 1st over of Taskin, both openers began to accelerate. They smashed a boundary in every over from 2nd to 8th. The opening pair provided a decent start to their team. After 8 overs, Aghanistan’s score was 47/0.
Shakib’s Fightback
Shakib-al-Hasan broke the 47-run partnership when Ibrahim attempted a sweep shot on an outside-the-off-stump delivery. It resulted in a top edge that was safely caught by the fielder at deep square leg. A few overs later, the Bangladeshi captain also managed to dismiss Rahmat Shah.
Brakes on the Scoring Rate
Rahmat’s dismissal slowed down Afghanistan’s scoring rate. Between overs 16 and 19, they could only muster 5 runs. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi encountered difficulties in finding opportunities to rotate the strike when facing Mehidy. In the 22 balls he confronted from the offspinner, Shahidi managed to accumulate just 3 runs.
In an attempt to break free from the scoring stagnation, he resorted to pulling Mahmudullah for a boundary. Then he aggressively charged down the track against Mustafizur Rahman, smashing the ball through the covers.
However, his endeavour to take on Mehidy resulted in a high-lofted shot that ended up being caught at mid-on. Afghanistan had scored 112/3 after 25 overs.
Batting Collapse
Things turned bad to worse for Afghanistan after Shahidi’s dismissal. In the next over, Mustafiz dismissed Gurbaz. He played a resilient innings of 47 runs. Shakib made a successful comeback by claiming his 3rd wicket. Najibullah Zadran misjudged the line and was bowled out.
In the subsequent over, Mohammad Nabi dragged the ball onto his stumps from Taskin Ahmed’s delivery, resulting in Afghanistan’s score of 126 for 6.
Azmatullah Omarzai and Rashid Khan managed to push the team’s total to 150. Then Rashid was dismissed on Mehidy’s delivery. Following Rashid’s dismissal, Afghanistan’s innings didn’t endure for much longer, as they were all out for 156 runs.
Bangladesh’s Innings
Early Strikes
While defending a total of 156 runs, Afghanistan had a shaky beginning in their bowling innings. Both Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman struggled to maintain their line and length. In spite of this, Bangladesh found themselves at 27 for 2 in the Ban vs Afg match.
Tanzid Hasan was dismissed due to a run-out mix-up with Litton Das. Shortly after that, Litton Das himself got an inside edge onto his stumps while facing Farooqi.
The Rebuilding Phase
Bangladesh were 27/2 when Najmul Hossain joined Mehidy Hassan. Both these batters played sensibly and built the foundation of the team’s innings. They scored almost run-a-ball and picked boundaries on loose deliveries. Mehidy completed his 50 off 58 balls in the 23rd over.
However, when he was batting at 57, Naveen ul Haq dismissed him. Rahmat Shah took a screamer at mid-off. Nevertheless, the match was entirely out of the hands of Afghanistan, as Bangladesh required 31 runs in 21 overs.
Poor Fielding Costs the Match
Najibullah missed a chance to dismiss Mehidy when he was batting on 16 runs. Shortly afterwards, Mehidy had another stroke of luck when Mujeeb dropped a catch off Naveen-ul-Haq’s bowling.
Following those escapes, Mehidy and Shanto adopted a more conservative approach. They focused on accumulating singles and doubles rather than taking unnecessary risks.
Winning Moment
Bangladesh were 148/4 after 34 overs. Shanto completed his 50, and Mushfiquar joined him. Shanto smashed 2 consecutive fours to Naveen in the next over and sealed the victory by 6 wickets.
It was the 3rd time that Bangladesh bashed Afghanistan in an ODI World Cup match. Mehidy Hassan was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance. He scored a brilliant 57 runs inning and took 3 wickets in the Ban vs Afg match.
Final Verdict
Afghanistan and Bangladesh locked horns in the 3rd game of the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Shakib won the toss and asked Afghanistan to bat first. Afghan openers started the innings in a solid way, but Shakib crunched their hopes. Bangladesh’s bowlers dominated Afghan’s batting and restricted them to 156 runs.
6 batters couldn’t enter in the double figures. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the only standout batter with 47 runs. Shakib and Mehidy took 3 wickets each, while Shoriful Islam claimed 2 wickets. Taskin and Mustafizur Rahman shared 1 wicket each.
Bangladesh had a shaky start, but they soon stabilised their run chase. Mehidy Hassan and Shanto guided the chase with a steady partnership. Both the batters scored the fifties in this Ban vs Afg match.
Bangladesh clinched the victory with 6 wickets and started their campaign with a great win. Mehidy Hassan was the Player of the Match for his handy bowling and remarkable batting performance.
