The first match of the Bangladesh vs Afghanistan ODI series 2023 started like a nightmare for the Tigers. Afghanistan emerged victorious in the first ODI against Bangladesh, defeating the hosts by a margin of 17 runs (according to the DLS method) in a rain-affected match. However, the performance of the Tigers was disappointing throughout the match. Let’s go over the overall performance of both teams.

Bangladesh’s Batting Performance

Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and sent the Tigers to bat first at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. However, Bangladesh could not move towards a big goal as no one could score runs except Towhid Hridoy. And rain also hampered the match.

Bangladesh lost 7 wickets for 139 runs. In the rain-interrupted match, they finally scored 169 for 9 in 43 overs, but it was not enough to fight.

Tamim Iqbal could not stay on the wicket for long. He departed after scoring 13 runs off 21 balls. In the 12th over of the innings, Litton went back with a catch at deep square leg by Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Litton could have played the short-length ball from Mujeeb down if he wanted to. But while picking it up, Rahmat Shah caught it at deep square. Litton Das scored 26 runs off 35 balls.

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After that, Najmul Hossain Shanto was the hope for Bangladesh. Shanto is the most trusted name in Bangladesh’s batting lineup in recent times. Even yesterday, he started positively. But the innings was not long enough. Mohammad Nabi hit in his first ball, and Shanto gave the catch at short fine leg while sweeping. Bangladesh was under some pressure after losing 2 wickets in 2 consecutive overs.

After one ball in the sixteenth over, the match was stopped due to rain. After losing 3 wickets for 72 runs, Shakib Al Hasan and Towhid Hridoy were guiding the Tigers. However, Shakib seemed to be feeling the pressure as he couldn’t keep the run wheels going like that. The all-rounder was caught by Mohammad Nabi while playing an off-side shot by Azmatullah Omarzai. As a result, he broke the partnership, and Shakib scored 14 runs off 34 balls.

Mushfiqur Rahim, who came to the crease after that, could not spark yesterday. Facing Rashid Khan’s terrible googly, Mushfiqur scored 1 run from 3 balls. Bangladesh’s top-order batting lineup collapsed in front of the Afghan spinners. Afif, who was out of the main squad for a while, returned to the team with this series. But he also could not accompany Towhid. After that, Miraz came to the pitch, and he scored 5 from 23 balls. At last, Bangladesh collected 169 runs for 9 wickets. Overall, Towhid Hridoy was the key player for Bangladesh yesterday, and he scored 51 from 69 balls.

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Afghanistan’s Bowling

Fazalhaq Farooqi took three wickets from 8.4 overs with one maiden over, and his economy rate was 2.77. Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan took two wickets each. Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi took one wicket each.

Afghanistan’s Batting Performance

After a smooth start, Afghanistan was moving safely toward an easy target. They completed the team’s fifty with the pair of two openers. Shakib Al Hasan was already put under pressure, and finally, he succeeded. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was caught by Shanto while playing forward at leg square. He scored 22 runs off 45 balls. Pacer Taskin Ahmed hit the second wicket. Rahmat Shah was trying to be aggressive at the crease. In the previous over, he hit four with a great shot on Hasan Mahmud’s ball. Then he was caught by Litton Das in the slip while playing Taskin’s ball. Rahmat returned with only 8 runs.

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There was a hint of rain in Chattogram even before the ODI series. In the first match, the game was stopped three times due to rain. At Afghanistan’s 83 runs in 21.4 overs, the rain started again. Up to that point, the Afghans lost only 2 wickets.

Afghanistan was ahead of Bangladesh by 17 runs, according to the Duckworth-Lewis method. Later, the visitors won by that run.

Bangladesh’s Bowling

Shakib Al Hasan took one wicket from 5 overs at 1.80 econ rate. On the other hand, Taskin also gave one breakthrough by bowling 5.4 overs.

Final Words

Bangladesh had a disappointing performance with their batting in the first ODI in Chattogram. It was a day when their batting struggled and failed to meet the expectation. In the end, Afghanistan’s target was 164 runs in 43 overs, while Bangladesh needed quick wickets. However, The game could not start after the third round of rain. And the Afghans won the first match and led the BAN vs AFG series 1-0. The second match of the series will be played on July 8 at the same venue.

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