Tigers shrug off Afghan jitters
Tigers shrug off Afghan jitters
Bangla songs and the slogan "Bangladesh, Bangladesh" shook the Manuka Oval far into the night after Bangladesh's victory over Afghanistan. Everyone was happy, not only because their expectation was fulfilled, but also for the victory was underlined by a clinical performance from the Tigers. The joy with which Mushfiqur Rahim took off the bails for the last Afghan wicket showed how much it meant to Bangladesh and the way the players, led by Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, paraded round the ground applauding the crowd was evidence enough just how relieved they were.
The spirited Mashrafe-led team banished any thoughts of stumbling Tigers that were prevalent in the build-up to this match. A much-hyped game turned into a one-sided affair as they marched to an authoritative 105–run victory, avenging their Asia Cup defeat on the way and getting off to a flying start in the ICC World Cup.
Aside from some impressive pace, the Afghans were transcended by the Tigers in every other aspect. The build-up featured the local newspapers terming it as a high-voltage affair between two evenly-matched sides. Others demeaned Bangladesh's status as a Full Member country, but Mashrafe led from the front to dominate the Afghans and stamp the Tigers' supremacy against the Associates.
A nervous start was followed by solid batting by the middle order as Shakib Al Hasan (63) and Mushfiqur Rahim's (71) efficient efforts gave Bangladesh a competitive total of 267, despite the late surge being dented by a steady fall of wickets. Mashrafe, who bowled his heart out, bowled a fiery opening spell, while Rubel aided him to script the comfortable victory.
The game was all but over when Mashrafe claimed two wickets and Rubel one to bring the Afghans to 3 for 3 in 3. It would not have been a surprise had Mashrafe scooped the player-of-the-match award ahead of Mushfiqur, as his destructive spell shattered any hopes the Afghans had of winning the match. They failed to recover from the early hiccups and were bundled out for 162 against a disciplined bowling attack.
The Afghans made a promising start after Mashrafe had won the toss and elected to bat on a placid track. Shapoor Zadran, whose first spell read 3-1-4-0, bowled some fine overs and set the tone for other to follow.
Openers Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque cautiously started the innings with a 47-run stand, but their successive dismissals put the Tigers in a spot of bother. Young Soumya Sarker however showed lot of promise during his 25-ball 28 that steadied the ship, but once again, the wickets of Sarker and Mahmudullah Riyad put the Afghans on top.
Bangladesh were down four wickets at the end of the 30th over with a sluggish run-rate, but a 114-run partnership between Shakib and Mushfiqur, who amassed the runs in 15.3 overs at a rate of 7.35, helped them to recover once more. Shakib hit 63 off 51 balls, smashing six fours and a six over backward square-leg while Mushfiqur, who still felt a lot of pain as he captained the Tigers to their Asia Cup loss against the same opponents, made 71 off 56 balls with six fours and a six to turn the match in favour of the Tigers.
Sabbir Rahman, who was preferred ahead of Nasir Hossain at number seven, failed to show his big hitting abilities as Bangladesh added just eight runs in 2.1 overs after Shakib's departure in the 45th over while Mushfiqur kept watching from the other end.
Bangladesh's easy victory was no surprise in the end but Mominul Hauqe's batting at number nine position was a real surprise for many.