Bangladesh have beaten Afghanistan by 7 runs in the first One-Day International (ODI) and go 1-0 up in the three-match series. Afghanistan looked on course to cause an upset but the Bangladesh bowlers pulled it back in the death to hand their team a good win. It was a nail-biting finish, with the match going down right down to the final over. Afghanistan got off to a shaky start as the lost their openers Mohammad Shahzad and Shabir Noori in quick succession. Shahzad was the first to go after scoring a brisk 21-ball 31, caught behind off skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, with as many as four fours and a six punctuating his innings. Noori was dismissed for 9 By Shakib-al-Hasan in his very first over of the innings and thereby became Bangladesh’s leading wicket-taker in all formats.
Afghanistan were reduced to 46 for 2 in 7.3 overs at that stage. That is when Rahmat Khan and Hashmatullah Shahidi go together. They stitched an incredible partnership. Both kept the scoreboard ticking once they got their eye in. They needed run-a-ball in the last 25 overs, with eight wickets in hand and looked set to cause an upset. Bith batsmen soon got to their fifties and were looking set to get a big score. They looked in control of the required run rate. They showed due respect to quality bowlers like Mortaza and Shakib, but went after the other bowlers. Taskin Ahmed, on his return to international cricket went for a lot of runs. Rubel Hossain and Taijul Islam too were on the expensive side. Rahmat was eventually dismissed by Shakib after he was stumped, looking to clear the ground. He scored a 93-ball 71 and had left Afghanistan in a precarious situation.
Former skipper Mohammad Nabi then walked in and immediately got going. Shahidi was playing well at this stage and his team would have wanted him to stay at the crease till the end. But he holed out in the deep off Taijul for 72. Bangladesh at this stage had two new batsmen at the crease and needed 56 off 39. Skipper Ashgar Stanikzai did not come out to bat and sent Najibullah Zadran in, knowing that his side needed to get a few out of the park to breathe easy. But Afghanistan lost their set batsman Shahidi for 72. And the gamble of sending Najibullah did not work as he was dismissed for just seven. But Afghanistan needed 27 off 18 deliveries with five wickets in hand. READ: BAN vs AFG LIVE Streaming, 1st ODI: Watch Live telecast & TV Coverage
It was Afghanistan’s to lose from here. Taskin, who had not had a good outing so far was introduced to bowl at this crucial juncture. The gamble of bowling him paid off as he managed to remove Nabi for 24-ball 30. It was crucial for Stanikzai to bat till the end from here, but Taskin struck again removing Stanikzai for just 10. Afghanistan now had two new batsmen at the crease and needed 21 off the final two overs. Rubel was entrusted to bowl the penultimate over. He started off brilliantly, giving away just three off the first three deliveries. Rubel went for just eight runs in that over and more importantly picked up the wicket of Rashid Khan for seven off the final ball of the over.
Afghanistan needed 13 to win off the final over with Mirwais Ashraf and Dawlat Zadran at the crease. Taskin was entrusted with bowling the final over. After giving away two off the first delivery, he trapped Ashraf in front of the next delivery, to pick up his third wicket of the evening. Afghanistan needed 11 from four deliveries at this stage. This brought young debutant Naveen-ul-Haq to the crease. Afghanistan needed 8 off the final two deliveries. Dawlat swung and missed, which meant unless Taskin bowled a no-ball or wide, Bangladesh had sealed a win. Taskin picked up a wicket off the final delivery and finished with four wickets on his return to international cricket.
Bangladesh have posted 265 in their 50 overs against Afghanistan in first One-Day International (ODI). Winning the toss, Bangladesh elected to bat. Bangladesh were off to a precarious start with the willow as Soumya Sarkar went without opening his account. Dawlat Zadran picked up the first wicket as Bangladesh were off to a disappointing start. Tamim Iqbal, being the senior pro, carried on from one end while he stitched an 83-run stand with Imrul Kayes for the second wicket and got to his fifty but later on got dismissed for 80 off 98 balls. Mahmudullah’s fifteen half-century and Shakib-Al-Hasan’s 48 helped their side get to a respectable total. Full Updates: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, 1st ODI
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. This is Bangladesh’s first match since theu played Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series, which was in November 2015. Bangladesh are Afghanistan are slated to play a three-ODI series and the hosts will be eager to start their new season on a winning note against a team fighting hard to shed their minnows tag from world cricket. Bangladesh’s next series will be against England at home.
Bangladesh are unfortunate not to play international cricket since the ICC World T20 2016.The team did well in Asia Cup 2016 reaching the finals ahead of the WT20I. Their performance have been at its peak in limited-overs. In ICC World Cup 2015, they defeated teams like South Africa, Pakistan and India at home. With inclusion of their ace players like Taskin back into the squad, it only gets better.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 265 in 50 overs (Tamim Iqbal 80, Mahmudullah 62, Shakib Al Hasan 48; Mohammad Nabi 2 for 40, Rashid Khan 2 for 37) beat Afghanistan 258 in 50 overs (Rahmat Shah 71, Hashmatullah Shahidi 72; Taskin Ahmed 4 for 59, Shakib-al-Hasan 2 for 26) by 7 runs
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