Afghanistan was bowled out for 156 after losing nine wickets for 73 runs in 22.2 overs. Bangladesh successfully chased down the total with six wickets and 92 balls remaining.
Vintage Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of Bangladesh and a veteran of five World Cups, clean bowled Najibullah Zadran for his third wicket of the match on Saturday, evoking Eric Clapton's famous quote about Ian Botham from more than three decades ago, following his century against Essex.
Afghanistan may have briefly wished for a player with Jonathan Trott's gloomy instincts around the middle of the first inning at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. It was so bad that someone had an attitude that was "over my dead body."
But head coach Trott was watching the kind of collapse that probably not even he would have thought to imagine from behind dark sunglasses in the Afghanistan dugout.
Bangladesh successfully chased down 156 after Afghanistan was knocked out for it with six wickets and 92 balls remaining after losing nine for 73 in 22.2 overs.
Collapse after opener
However, after being asked to bat, Afghanistan got off to a good start. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Bangladesh's opener, threatened to make the fielders useless with his string of five elegantly timed boundaries. He was helped by the small dimensions of the ground and the strong crosswind, which even carried check drives and check pulls over the fence.
But much to Gurbaz’s visible irateness, none of the other batters demonstrated anything like the combination of fluency, discipline, and attacking intent shown by him.
The captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, was particularly unlucky; he got trapped at one end and denied his set mate a strike. He struggled endlessly and never seemed at ease, eventually losing to Mehidy for a 38-ball 18.
Here, Gurbaz's thoughtful half-century may have acted as a crucial link between the middle order and the tail. Gurbaz stepped out to Mustafizur Rahman, who skillfully bowled a slightly wide, slower ball that he could only slice as far as the deep point fielder after being stranded in the late forties for a while.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib, two of Bangladesh's top finger-spinners, took six wickets for just 55 runs, while the quicks hit the pitch hard and awkward angles with pace variations and deft use of the crease.
Afghan bowlers battled valiantly, even putting Bangladesh down two for a very small margin. But the two dropped chances of Mehidy, who made 57, added 97 with Najmul Hossain Shanto (59 not out) and the
