Maiden Asia Cup tons from Mehidy Hasan and Shanto help Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 89 runs
Asia Cup: Mehidy, Shanto hit tons as Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 89 runs
A record-breaking 213-run stand between Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shanto and four wickets by Taskin Ahmed ensured an 89-run win for Bangladesh over Afghanistan in their second Asia Cup 2023 match in Lahore on Sunday. With this win, Bangladesh stayed alive in the tournament.
Bangladesh elected to bat first in the must-win game against Afghanistan in Lahore on Sunday. In the absence of regular openers, the Tigers tweaked the batting line-up, sending all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz to try his hand at opening while batting. The risk paid dividends, as Miraz turned out to be the difference-maker in the end.
Following an exciting start, Bangladesh lost two wickets inside 11 overs, with Mehidy Hasan still at the crease. Alongside Najmul Hossain Shanto, the pair stitched a 213-run stand – the highest for any wicket for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. In the meantime, both completed their respective second ODI tons.
While Mehidy retired hurt on an unbeaten 112 off 119 balls, including three sixes and seven fours, Shanto, who also impressed during the Sri Lanka outing, scored an almost run-a-ball 104, hitting nine boundaries and two massive sixes.
Courtesy of their stand and handy contributions from seasoned campaigners in Mushfiqur Rahim (25 from 15) and Captain Shakib Al Hasan (32 off 18), Bangladesh posted their highest team total – 334/5, in this tournament.
The upbeat Afghanistan side lost star opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz on just one inside the second over. That wicket, however, didn’t hurt their hunger for the chase as Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah held their nerves and got the innings moving for the Afghans.
Following Rahmat Shah’s wicket, skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Zadran kept their team in the chase with some clean and impressive stroke play. Zadran, who completed his fifty and looked confident of converting it into a three-digit score, got out 75. Najibullah Zadran departed early, while Hashmatullah lost his wicket soon after completing his fifty.
Wickets continued to fall as Bangladesh inched closer to their first win of Asia Cup 2023.
Star all-rounder Rashid Khan stood tall as he smashed a few boundaries to keep everyone on their toes. He didn’t look like letting the match go without a fight as he took the attack to the bowlers.
The target, however, turned out to be too much for Afghanistan, as they lost their first game by 89 runs.
Pace spearhead Taskin Ahmed returned with four wickets, including scalpingMujeeb ur Rahman hit wicket.
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