Afghanistan secured victory against Bangladesh by 92 runs thanks to Mohammad Nabi’s 84 and Allah Ghazanfar’s six-wicket haul at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, and now need only two victories to advance to the semifinals of this competition.
Players and board members of Afghanistan’s national cricket team met with Taliban leaders, including Sirajuddin Haqqani – head of Haqqani Network and acting minister under Taliban rule – and other key individuals.
In this article, we will discuss the main points or high lights of Afghanistan National Cricket Team vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team Match Scorecard.
Top Run-Scorers
| Player | Team | Runs Scored | Balls Faced | Strike Rate | Highest Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Afghanistan | 43 | 55 | 78.18 | 43 |
| Litton Das | Bangladesh | 54* | 49 | 110.20 | 54* |
| Ibrahim Zadran | Afghanistan | 18 | 29 | 62.07 | 18 |
| Towhid Hridoy | Bangladesh | 14 | 9 | 155.56 | 14 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | Afghanistan | 10 | 12 | 83.33 | 10 |
Note: Litton Das remained unbeaten with 54 runs, providing a resilient effort for Bangladesh.
Top Wicket-Takers
| Player | Team | Overs Bowled | Wickets Taken | Economy Rate | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 4 | 4 | 5.75 | 4/23 |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | Afghanistan | 3.5 | 4 | 6.78 | 4/26 |
| Rishad Hossain | Bangladesh | 4 | 3 | 6.50 | 3/26 |
| Taskin Ahmed | Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 3.00 | 1/12 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 4.25 | 1/17 |
Note: Rashid Khan’s 4/23 and Naveen-ul-Haq’s 4/26 were instrumental in Afghanistan’s defense of a modest total.
Afghanistan: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Rahmat Shah (wk), Mustafizur Rahman (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (wk)
Afghanistan and Bangladesh were two of the most intriguing games on Day 1 of the Cricket World Cup. Both squads are packed with talented cricketers that make them formidable opponents on the pitch, particularly when it comes to batting. Afghanistan boasts deep batting depth led by Rashid Khan, Gurbaz Shah, Nangeyalia Kharote and Azmatullah Omarzai while Bangladesh have an excellent bowling attack led by Taskin Ahmed and Mushfiqur Rahim which often make for thrilling finishes; yet their lack of consistency makes them risky selections when playing big matches.
Afghanistan struggled against the new ball but Nangeyalia Kharote and Rashid Khan performed admirably, keeping their scores ticking along. Unfortunately, middle-order batsmen succumbed to fatigue, leading them into retirement – Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam both took wickets to put Bangladesh ahead at half time.
Soon after drinks were taken, Ibrahim Zadran attempted to sweep Shakib but was taken aback by an extra bounce and holed out at short third man for 22. Shortly thereafter, another opener Razzad Zadran tried the same tactic but was caught at short leg off Gulbadin Naib for 25.
However, Afghanistan were still hopeful as Nabi and Atal were both playing attractive shots in their middle order, particularly Atal who used his short boundary to hit some stunning sixes and fours off Taskin’s googly over. But runs dried up fast as Taskin took a crucial wicket off his next over when Rashid was caught at long off off googly from Naib off googly by Naib for just 18.
Bangladesh then employed damage limitation with improved bowling performance from their bowlers, with Miraz losing his concentration, which allowed Naib to trap him with a googly in front of the stumps by Naib and Gulbadin Naib departing due to another googly while trying to take quick singles.
Nabi and Atal persevered, joined by Mohammad Nabi and Mushfiqur Rahim to post some respectable totals on the board. However, given Bangladesh’s quality bowlers they could never hope to reach their target of 157 runs; Bangladesh ended their innings on 68 for five with Nabi making three three-fers in their innings en route to winning by 68 runs; Amiri and her teammates will hope for better fortunes during the remainder of this match.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Tamim Iqbal (wk), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun (wk), Nazmul Hossain Shanto (wk), Shafiqur Rahman (wk), Rubel Hossain (wk), Soumya Sarkar (wk).
Afghanistan and Bangladesh both won an ODI against each other during their last meeting, ranking eighth and ninth in ODI rankings respectively. Their next encounter will take place in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates for an undoubtedly exciting match-up.
Bangladesh had an erratic start, but Rashid Khan quickly settled them as they attempted to defend. With several loose shots being hit before Bangladesh were eventually dismissed for 143 at 49.4 overs.
Mohammad Nabi and Allah Ghazanfar combined to take Afghanistan from 71-5 to 235-6 in their opening ODI of this series at Sharjah Stadium – their highest total ever at that venue and biggest victory against Bangladesh at any level of cricket.
So far it has been an impressive series for both teams as they have played some outstanding cricket. It has been interesting to observe their adaption to conditions and respective strategies as both seek to secure their place amongst the top eight of this tournament.
Following the second ODI, both teams will meet up again in Sharjah to determine who wins this three-match series and automatically qualify for semifinals of this tournament. The team with more wins will gain direct entry.
As of now, both teams have won two matches and lost one each. Ahead of the final matchup, we take a look back at some key takeaways from each matchup.
Bangladesh are still in a commanding position after losing the first ODI despite defeat, as their recent performance in ODI format has been quite promising and they can beat Afghanistan to secure their spot in the semifinals.
Arnos Vale Cricket Ground’s pitch has historically produced low-scoring thrillers by modern T20 scoring rates. The wicket is slightly slow with uneven bounce, giving both pace and spin bowlers ample opportunity to exploit its unique characteristics.
Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam are two seamers to keep an eye out for during this match-up, both known for their abilities to swing the ball forward quickly and pick up early wickets; Taskin in particular has an impressive track record against Afghan opponents while Shoriful has enjoyed great success against them in previous encounters.
Batsmen on both teams will aim to hit boundaries and score runs quickly in quick succession in order to make the chase for 230 look easier. But the Afghans will need to step up their game in the second half if they hope to have any hope of edging past India in this crucial encounter, although they possess some exceptional batsmen capable of coming good in the final few overs – let’s wait and see! For updates stay tuned to Sportsworld!
Nangeyalia Kharote (wk)
Nangeyalia Kharote was one of 19 members of Afghanistan Women’s Cricket Team who left their homeland in order to find freedom and live the lives they imagined for themselves. Her account of their journey described as feeling “like Jason Bourne movie”, with players changing cars at each of eight checkpoints during their three-week journey was terrifying and required constant adaptation between car transfers.
Afghanistan has written history by becoming the first non-Test playing nation ever to win an ICC Trophy tour against an established Test-playing side – something they only became fully part of as full members in 2021! Their victory in Zimbabwe against Zimbabwe, by virtue of an 2-1 scoreline earlier this month was remarkable and impressive feat.
Rashid Khan and Hashmatullah Shahidi serve as captains, and Jonathan Trott is coach of Afghanistan Cricket Board which is affiliated with International Cricket Council (ICC). Due to full membership status they can compete both Test matches as well as One Day Internationals (ODIs).
Current World rankings place India’s One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals teams ninth overall; yet they boast an impressive record in both formats, winning more than 50 percent of their matches for an estimated winning percentage of around 60 percent in both formats.
Bangladesh are home to some of the finest young talent in cricket, such as Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal. Beyond their immense talent, Bangladesh players are known for their entertaining on-field personalities; many mock their opponents with Naagin dance moves during matches.
Recent events have shown that not everything is peachy for the team. Sirajuddin Haqqani is known to lead one of the Taliban’s most violent networks and currently acts as Kabul’s acting Minister of Interior. A post shared online shows team players and board members posing alongside Haqqani for photos. The Taliban had previously banned women’s cricket, and have an established track record of oppression and violence against its own members. Yet the International Cricket Council decided to maintain its commitment to Afghanistan – an encouraging sign that cricket will flourish further there. Afghanistan cricket represents hope to its young Afghans and their families as an opportunity to demonstrate that they do not back down from standing up and speaking out in times of global war on terror. We should not ignore its symbolism: with its potential power over cricket itself, its international Cricket Council (ICC) holds power to influence change within our sport – so let’s back them!