Bangladesh bagged an easy six-wicket win over Afghanistan on Saturday in their first match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.
Shakib Al Hasan-led side easily chased down the target in 34.4 overs after restricting the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side to a total of 156.
In the contest played in Dharamsala, Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s captain, once again proved to be a thorn in Afghanistan’s side at the World Cup.
Despite Afghanistan making a good start at 47-1 and 112-2 after being sent into bat, they suffered a dramatic batting collapse, losing their last eight wickets for just 44 runs. This led to their dismissal for just 156 runs, with more than 11 overs to remain.
Shakib, a Left-arm spinner who had previously taken 5-29 in a corresponding World Cup fixture four years ago, bagged the critical opening two wickets and ended with figures of 3-30 in eight overs.
As the skipper, Shakib also showed his skill in handling the bowling attack, which delivered crucial wickets.
Another spinner, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, contributed immensely brilliantly with the ball, taking 3-25 from his nine overs, as several Afghan batters succumbed to imperfect shot selection.
The only significant resistance came from opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored 47 runs. However, frustrated by the lack of support from his teammates, he eventually got out off paceman Mustafizur Rahman to Tanzid Hasan in the covers.
