Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets in their first match in the World Cup with Mehdi Hasan Miraj’s all-round skill. Miraj is the hero of the Tigers’ victory with 3 wickets with the ball and a great fifty with the bat.
The Afghans were bowled out for 156 runs with 12.4 overs remaining thanks to the spin of Shakib Al Hasan and Miraj. In response, the Tigers were under pressure after losing two openers to bat. However, Shakib Bahini took the victory with 92 balls in hand in the pair of Miraj-Shantar fifty.
Tiger openers Tamim-Leeton gave a good indication of things to come as they chased down a small target of 157 runs set by Afghanistan at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Saturday (October 7) with 15 runs in the first two overs. But then there was a downturn. Junior Tamim returned to the pavilion after running out. The young batsman scored 5 runs off 13 balls with 1 boundary before getting out. After Tamim’s departure, Miraj, who is at the peak of form, came to the crease.
Then in the seventh over, another opener Liton Das returned to Sajghar after being bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqui. The opener scored 13 runs off 18 balls with 2 fours before getting out. After coming to the wicket, Miraj and Shanto took the lead of the team. Miraj hit a boundary when he got a bad ball from the Afghan bowlers. He completed his fifty off 58 balls. At the other end, he understood the situation and batted responsibly. Both of them made a pair of 97 runs off 129 balls. Naveen Ul Haq broke the pair by returning Miraz who scored 57 runs in 73 balls with 5 boundaries.
After coming to the crease, the captain Shakib Al Hasan could not increase the innings. Despite playing a great shot, Shakib was caught on the boundary line. 14 runs came from the captain’s bat before returning. Then Shanto touched the 6th fifty of his ODI career in 80 balls. In the next over, Naveen hit back-to-back boundaries in 92 balls to ensure Bangladesh’s 6-wicket win. Shanta remained unbeaten on 59 runs, Mushfiq scored 2 runs.
