CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – Bangladesh cruised to a comprehensive 89-run victory over Afghanistan in their Asia Cup Cricket Tournament Group ‘B’ must-win fixture played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan on Sunday.
After piling up their highest score in the Asia Cup Tournament, Bangladesh produced a disciplined performance on the field to skittle out their opponents for 245 runs in 44.3 overs with Taskin Ahmed (4/44) and Shoriful Islam (3/36) sharing the wickets.
Afghanistan, of course, had a disappointing start to their run chase as they lost opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the second over of the innings.
Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah repaired the early damage with a second wicket stand of 78 runs while Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi smashed 51 from 60 deliveries with the aid of six boundaries.
But thereafter, the Afghanistan innings fell into pieces as their last five wickets fell for the addition of just 33 runs in five overs with Bangladesh running through the innings quickly.
Earlier, opener Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto struck splendid centuries to help Bangladesh amass a massive 334 for five after they had won the toss and elected to bat first.
Miraz hit a top score of 112 from 119 balls before he retired hurt after having hoisted three sixes and struck seven boundaries as Bangladesh took advantage of a good batting surface to pile on the runs.
Shanto was more aggressive as he raced to a 105-ball 104 inclusive of two sixes and nine boundaries with the pair adding 194 runs for the third wicket.
For the second time in his career, Miraz came out to open in an Asia Cup as a makeshift opener and the right-hander outdid his previous score by a big margin, bringing up his second ODI ton.
Shanto missed out on a hundred against Sri Lanka in the previous match. But against Afghanistan, the left-hander didn’t repeat that mistake and brought up his second century in ODIs.
Chief scores
Bangladesh: 334/5 in 50 overs (Mehidy Hasan Miraz 112 retired hurt, Najmul Hossain Shanto 104, Mushfiqur Rahim 25, Shakib Al Hasan 32 n.o)
Afghanistan: 245 in 44.3 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 75, Rahmat Shah 33, Hashmatullah Shahidi 51, Rashid Khan 24, Taskin Ahmed 4/44, Shoriful Islam 3/36).
