Spinners set up 1-0 lead for Afghanistan

Afghanistan notched a comfortable five-wicket win in the first ODI against Bangladesh to go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series. After solid a bowling performance, led by three-fers from Rashid Khan (3 for 38) and Azmatullah Omarzai (3 for 40) bowled out Bangladesh for 221, fifties from Rahmat Shah and Rahmanullah Gurbaz laid the foundation for the Afghans to chase down the low score.

The Afghan openers went about their business in simple fashion, with Ibrahim Zadran being the aggressor creaming four boundaries in his stay of 25 runs. Gurbaz was the quieter of the two but danced down to smoke Taskin Ahmed into the stands for six. The openers brought up the 50-run partnership within the 10-over mark before Tanvir Islam broke through with the wicket of Zadran.

Sediqullah Atal departed cheaply for five as Bangladesh attempted to comeback into the contest. Along with Tanvir, Mehidy Hasan Miraz also sent in a few quiet overs to build the pressure on Afghanistan. Afghanistan went 73 balls without finding the boundary until Rahmat broke the shackles in the 21st over. He scored a second boundary few overs later as Afghanistan tried to switch gears which led to Rahmat to his 50.

But his celebrations were cut short by Tanzim Hasan Sakib. The same thing transpired with Gurbaz who too got out immediately after reaching his 50 to Mehidy. New batters Omarzai and Hashmatullah Shahidi revived the innings with a 59-run stand over the next 10 overs. The former feasted on any poor bowling by Bangladesh and scored six fours and a six during his stay at the crease. This included three consecutive fours off Tanzim before being dismissed for 40. Shahidi, on the other hand, steered the ball into the gaps and ran well to keep the opposition on their toes. Mohammad Nabi wrapped up the win with a six off Saif Hassan with 17 balls to spare.

Earlier, Bangladesh were in a heap of trouble with the bat losing their top three with just 53 runs on the scoreboard thanks to a searing new-ball spell from Omarzai. Towhid Hridoy (56 off 85) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (60 off 87) rebuilt steadily, adding 101 runs for the fourth wicket. The pair mixed caution with calculated aggression, with Towhid breaking free with clean strikes off Mohammad Nabi and Mehidy finding rhythm against AM Ghazanfar with a six.

Having put on 100 runs together, Bangladesh looked on course for a total well beyond 260. However, a mix-up between the two batters triggered a dramatic collapse. Towhid was run out after a hesitation in calling and from there, Bangladesh lost their way completely. Rashid Khan, returning for his third spell, struck almost immediately, trapping Mehidy LBW with a trademark googly to claim his 200th ODI wicket. He followed that with two more quick strikes, removing Jaker Ali and Nurul Hasan to rip through the middle order and finish with 3 for 38.

Afghanistan dominated with 35.5 overs of spin bowling. Ghazanfar (2 for 55) provided excellent support, bowling with control and variety before cleaning up the tail. The lower order offered little resistance apart from a brief cameo from Tanvir Islam (11 off 8), who hit a four and a six before being stumped.

Brief Scores: Bangladesh 221 in 48.5 overs (Mehidy Hasan Miraz 60, Towhid Hridoy 56; Rashid Khan 3-38, Azmatullah Omarzai 3-40) lost to Afghanistan 226/5 in 47.1 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 50, Rahmat Shah 50; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 3-31, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 1-32) by 5 wickets