CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – Two magnificent centuries from Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto steered Bangladesh to an imposing 334 for five wickets in their 2023 Asia Cup Cricket Tournament Group ‘B’ must-win match against Afghanistan played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday.
Elegant opener 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 having won the toss and elected to bat first.
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.
Miraz finished on 112 off 119 balls, his highest score in ODIs. The all-rounder, however, could count himself a bit unlucky as he had to leave the field retired hurt owing to a finger injury.
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.
Unlike in the first match against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy, where the Bangladesh bowlers only had 164 runs to defend, this time the batters have left quite a few runs for the bowlers to defend.
In the Bangladesh innings it was quite evident that the pitch had nothing to offer for the bowlers.
Afghanistan’s skilled spinners couldn’t work their magic and even Rashid Khan, a bowler Bangladesh often struggled against, finished wicketless and conceded 6.5 runs per over.
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) v Afghanistan.
