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So that is that from this contest. A big game coming up on Tuesday at this very venue but before that, we head back to Pallekele in Sri Lanka as India face Nepal tomorrow. No Jasprit Bumrah for this particular game as he briefly heads back home for personal reasons but will the weather hold good? And can India get their first win on the board after the washout against Pakistan? Do join us for our coverage of that contest right here on Sportskeeda while keeping yourselves updated with all the other cricketing news and action from around the world on this very platform. For the moment though, this is the duo of Pradeep Somashekar and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. Thank you so much for tuning in as we hope you enjoyed our coverage. See you tomorrow - good night and here's to a great week ahead!
Another day where Mehidy Hasan Miraz reiterated the quality he brings to this Bangladeshi outfit. A thoroughly professional performance by the Tigers as they send that net run-rate of theirs up. And now, they wait and hope for Sri Lanka to keep Afghanistan at bay in a couple of days' time. At the very least, they'd want Afghanistan to not win by a humongous margin that would catapult their net run-rate ahead of their own. We certainly are set up for a cracker on Tuesday though, aren't we?
Mehidy Hasan Miraz is the Player of the Match for his outstanding all-round display. Here's what he has to say: I'm really happy - credit to the Almighty. The team management believed in me and that's why I played (well) here. (On the pitch) I think it was an excellent wicket. When I went to the wicket, I saw that the ball was coming on easily so I was trying to attack in the first few overs. It was an excellent partnership between me and Shanto. He did really well - he has played well in back-to-back matches. He just told to play normal cricket and keep going. (On his cramps) I sometimes get cramps, it's too hot here.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh captain): I thought we played very well all-round. Starting from the toss, it was a good toss to win. In this heat it wasn't easy for the fielders to field for 50 overs and then come out to bat. The way Mehidy Hasan MIraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto batted set it up and we finished really well. Every now and then when he (Mehidy) has got his chance up the order he has proved himself. We always knew he had the ability. Especially against Afghanistan he has a good record so we thought why not try him up the order and it paid off. We executed our plans really well. All three fast-bowlers bowled their hearts out. They've been doing well for the last 2-3 years. They're improving every day and I think this match will give them a lot of confidence since it wasn't an easy wicket to bowl on. Everyone will watch (the Afg-SL game). It's not in our control. The things we could have done, we've done. The first game wasn't our best but this game we played really good.
Taskin Ahmed: The wicket was really good to bat on, the margin for the bowlers was really small. tried to mix it up, full, back of a length and shorter, wasn't easy for the bowlers, but also good thing if I can do well on this kind of surface, it's a confidence booster for me. The length is key in any surface, if my strength is length deliveries with some movement, had to mix it up a bit. Shoriful started really well, all of our bowlers well today and Mehidy batted well, got the hundred, it was a clinical performance.
Hashmatullah Shahidi [Afghanistan captain]: It was plenty of runs, but it was chaseable, outfield was quick and it was a batting track, but after my wicket and Najib, we let it go. At the start, their bowlers bowled very well, no loose deliveries, we were slow at the start and it became hard towards the end. We need to improve in all departments, especially fielding, today the bowling wasn't too good and hopefully we can improve on both. [On being asked about the Afghan crowd] Lahore is near to our country, Afghanistan, they were waiting for this game and they came all the way from there, hopefully they can come in big numbers in the next game, and support us.
Match Summary: Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 89 runs.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz 112 (119) | Taskin Ahmed 4/44 (8.3) Ibrahim Zadran 75 (74) | Gulbadin Naib 1/58 (8)
A thorough performance by Bangladesh and this is why they've earned the reputation for being an excellent ODI side. They didn't turn up against Sri Lanka but they certainly put it behind them in style today to register their first win of the tournament. To do it with this margin too certainly sends that net run-rate shooting up, putting pressure on the Afghans ahead of their own game against Sri Lanka. It was set up of course by those twin tons by Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto as the Tigers had a massive 334 runs to play with.
Their fast-bowlers then took over with Shoriful Islam getting the ball to hoop around, trapping Rahmanullah Gurbaz in front in the second over of the innings. That was a hammer-blow to the Afghans and it saw them having to play catch-up thereafter. Rahmat Shah was kept very quiet even as Ibrahim Zadran timed the ball crisply and found the boundaries on a regular basis. Just 37 runs came off the first ten overs though and that made life difficult for his side as the asking rate shot up considerably.
A solid partnership is what Rahmat and Ibrahim put on although the former departed without converting his start into something substantial. Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi was kept quiet as well before he picked up pace but it was Ibrahim who was going about his job at a decent clip, notching up a pristine half-century. He looked to flick a switch and push the score forward but could not carry on and get that hundred which Afghanistan dearly needed. Shahidi and Najibullah Zadran then got a solid partnership going but with the asking rate climbing, it would have taken something incredible for the Afghans to pull it off despite all those wickets in hand.
Bangladesh's bowlers sticking to a relentless radar complicated life even further for the batters. Shoriful was magnificent with Hasan Mahmud also making a very good impression. The spinners did their bit to ensure that the batters weren't let off the hook and it was Taskin Ahmed who completed the clean-up act. Wickets fell at regular intervals with the batters going hard for the big shots. It was but inevitable given how alarming the asking rate had become. Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan gave it a whack but it was never going to be enough but for a miracle. If anything, Mujeeb Ur Rahman trudging onto his stumps summed up a very difficult day at the office for Afghanistan. Stick around for the presentation...
And that will do quite nicely! The skipper pouches it and Taskin finishes with four wickets to his name. A dominant performance from start to finish from Bangladesh and they've roared back in style!
44.3 Taskin Ahmed to Rashid Khan, OUT! MILES UP IN THE NIGHT SKY AND IT'S ALL OVER! Afghanistan capitulate big time and losing this game by a fair margin. Bangladesh thump Afghanistan and pick up a crucial two points, more importantly this'll boost their net run-rate. Back of a length outside the off-stump, Rashid goes for wild swing but top edged it straight up and Shakib settles at mid-off to take a simple catch. Rashid Khan c Shakib Al Hasan b Taskin Ahmed 24 (15b, 3x4, 1x6)
44.2 Taskin Ahmed to Fazalhaq Farooqi, OH! Short delivery, hurries Farooqi there, awkwardly fends it into the on-side and takes the single.