BAN vs AFG Highlights, World Cup 2023: Mehidy Hasan stars as Bangladesh beats Afghanistan by six wickets

Musfiqur Rahim is the new batter for Bangladesh. He gets off the strike with a single.

Short from Naveen and Shanto pulls it to the fence for a four. Next up is a full ball and Shanto smashes it past mid off for another four and that is it. Bangladesh opens th World Cup with a huge win.

Afghanistan began well with Gurbaz laying the platform with a solid knock. But Bangladesh bowlers -- Shakib and Mehidy in particular -- quickly pulled things back, restricting Afghanistan to just 156.

Bangladesh’s chase was anchored by fifties from Shanto and Mehidy as Afghanistan bowlers crumbled under the pressure of a lowly target.

Azmat gets another go. Short and Shakib anticipates it. Pull shot, well in front of square and it races away to the fence for a four. Another short ball and Shakib tries to go even bigger. But he can’t clear Farooqi at the deep square leg fence.

Shakib Al Hasan c Fazalhaq Farooqi b Azmatullah Omarzai 14 (19b 2x4 0x6)

BAN 148/4 in 34 overs

Naveen continues. Shanto and Shakib trade strike with singles. Last ball of the over and Naveen oversteps and gives away a freehit. But Shanto can’t find a boundary of the freehit.

Bangladesh needs 16 more runs to win.

Right-arm pacer Azmatullah gets his first over of the day. Shakib begins the over with a quickly run double. Couple of short balls as Shanto restraints himself from having a go at them.

Naveen gets another over. Shakib plays out a couple of dot balls before taking an easy single to turn over the strike. Shanto seems to be in a hurry. Lofted drive through the cover region. Gets him a couple of runs.

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan is the new batter for Bangladesh.

Shanto takes the initiative by taking on Rashid. Earns a boundary with sweep shot. Bangladesh closing in on the win.

Naveen into the attack. Mehidy Hasan tries to go above mid-off. But Rahmat Shah has another idea. He leaps high and takes a stunning, one-handed catch.

End of a brilliant knock by Mehidy Hasan.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz c Rahmat Shah b Naveen-ul-Haq 57 (73b 5x4 0x6)

BAN 126/3 in 29 overs

Short from Rashid to start the over. Mehidy waits and waits and waits, before slotting it behind point for a four. Another short ball from Rashid and Shanto chips it over mid wicket for another four. The win is ever so close for Bangladesh.

Mujeeb against Shanto. The left-hander tries to make room on the leg side. But the spinner follows him and cramps him up with a full one. Four dot balls in and Shanto decides to break the shackles. Slightly full and Shanto steps forward before lofting it over mid off for a four.

The triple spin attack continues with Rashid Khan. Shanto and Hasan deal in singles as they whittle down the target to under 50. Afghanistan in dire need of quick wickets.

Nabi given another over. He pins Mehidy Hasan down with a sharp over. Maiden!!

Mujeeb from the other end. He drifts one into Mehidy Hasan, who presses forward in defence. It hits him on the front pad and the umpire gives it out. Mehidy reviews succesfully. An inside edge saves him. Afghan players no very happy with the decision.

100 up for Bangladesh!

This has been a composed chase, led ably by Mehidy Hasan and Shanto. Mujeeb given a go against he duo. Mehidy Hasan taps one to long on for a single and that is his fifty. A well-contructed one from the Bangladeshi batter.

Shanto on strike. Nabi operating around the wicket. Tries to drift one away from the outside edge of the left-hander. No mistakes from Shanto though. Four runs from the over, with one coming from a wide.

Rashid with his sixth. The Bangladeshi batters have played it safe against the leg spinner and they continue to do so. No untowards risks. Last ball of the over. Rashid pitches it up and Mehidy Hasan drives it for a double to shore up the over.

Nabi continues. Mehidy Hasan taps a fuller one straight back for a single. He is closing in on a well-worked half-century. Bangladesh still has a lot of batting lef in it tanks.

Nabi drifts down the leg side. Mehidy Hasan clips it past the keeper for a double.

Rahsid Khan getting into his rhythm as Bangladeshi batters get a little bit too defensive. Rashid changes his angle, going around the wicket against Shanto and whizzes one past the outside edge. Afghanistan turning on the heat.

Nabi with a tight over. He starts with three dot balls against Shanto. A single follows. Mehidy too is held tight by Nabi’s off spin.

Shanto takes a single off Rahsid’s first ball to get off the strike. The running between wickets has been expemplary for the duo. Four more singles as the Shanto-Hasan partnership push Bangladesh beyond 80.

Nabi with his second. Mehidy Hasan with a paddle sweep straight away. Just a single from the shot though. Nabi arrows a straight one in against Shanto. The left-hander had to bring his bat down fast to protect his stumps there.

Rashid up against Mehidy Hasan. Slightly short first ball. Hasan slashes it for a couple of runs. Another quickly run double closes out yet another good over for Bangladesh. That would have been dangerous for Bangladesh if the throw was on target.

Mehidy Hasan has been batting as well as anyone has today. He looks well in control. IF Afghanistan wants to get back into this game, they would need to get rid off him as soon as possible.

Nabi into the attack. Shanto and Mehidy work with singles. Four runs from the over.

Rashid continues. He seems to be getting into the groove as he gets the better of Shanto with a well-deceived googly. Narrowly missing the outside edge.

Rashid goes shot and Mehidy unleashes a full-blooded cut shot for another four.

Second over for Naveen. Around the wicket against Shanto. Short ball and the left-handed batter pulls it along the ground for a single.

DROPPED!!

Another short ball. This time against Mehidy Hasan, who tries to flick it over third man. It is within the grasp of Mujeeb. Way too casual from Mujeeb as he goes at it with one hand.

First over from Rashid Khan. Afghanistan needs its talisman deliver today. Hasan and Shanto start with singles against the leggie.

Rashid with a googly and Mehidy Hasan expertly guides it past slip for a four. And that brings up Bangladesh’s 50.

Naveen-ul-Haq comes into the attack. Miraz punches this to mid-off and hares for a quick one. Shanto defends this back to Naveen. He is yet to get off the mark after six balls. He is finally off the mark off the eighth ball with a couple behind square-leg and then whips the next delivery away to fine-leg for one more. Naveen strays on the pads too often in this over. Afghanistan can’t afford too many such wayward overs after only getting 156 on the board.

FOUR! Short from Farooqi and Miraz pulls this from a bit outside off to the square-leg boundary. A couple more for him through point. DROPPED! Miraz drives again and this is dropped at point by Najibullah. Should have been taken and especially when you are defending 156.

Mujeeb continues. Miraz punches back to the bowler. FOUR! Tossed up on off and Miraz steps forward and drives this through covers. Full outside off again but doesn’t connect this drive as well and straight to the cover fielder. Dabbed to short third off the backfoot for a single. A bit of confusion between the batters for the single but then they scamper through. Shanto presses forward to defend back to Mujeeb.

One more for Farooqi upfront. Miraz drives through cover and point for three runs as the ball plugs in the outfield a bit. OUT! Stumps flying! Litton pokes outside off, gets an inside edge and his leg stump goes cartwheeling. Shanto the new man in and he defends this length ball on off back to the bowler.

Tight over from Mujeeb as only two singles come from it. He keeps it on a length around off mostly and the batters are happy to see off the over without much ado.

OUT! Tanzid is run out. He is caught napping and there is a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Against the run of play, Afghanistan has a wicket and Tanzid will be kicking himself. Mehidy Hasan Miraz comes in at No. 3. Length ball angling in and tucked away to fine-leg by Miraz for a single and he is off the mark. Driven crispy by Litton straight to the extra-cover fielder.

Mujeeb to continue. There’s a loud LBW appeal but not given by the umpire as it looks like Tanzid got an inside edge onto his pad.

Farooqi continues. Starts the over with a wide down leg-side. Shaping in with the angle and Tanzid misses the flick on leg-side and the ball goes off the inside edge onto his pads. Swinging in on the legs and whipped behind for one leg-bye. Four dot balls to end the over as Litton is unable to pierce the gaps.

Mujeeb from the other end. FOUR! Loose length ball going down leg and Litton tucks it behind for a boundary. Punched down the ground next ball for a single. One more for Tanzid at long-on. FOUR! Another boundary to end the over.

Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan will begin Bangladesh’s chase. Should be a straightforward one for the Tigers unless Afghanistan’s spinners prove to be as potent as those of Bangladesh. Fazalfaq Farooqi starts off with an outswinger to Tanzid and the left-hander leaves. Two slips in place. He steps out next ball to cut but misses. This is shorter, shaping away and left alone again. Three dots in a row. This is swinging down leg and called wide. FOUR! Full on the pads and clipped through mid-on for a boundary. Beaten! Shaping away again and Tanzid is beaten trying to cut this square.

OUT! Naveen pulls a short one from Shoriful straight to the deep square-leg fielder. That’s it then. The Afghan batting line-up collapses like a pack of cards as Shakib and Mehidy pick three wickets each. From 83 for one to 156 all out will be a disappointment that will be hard to overcome for Afghanistan. Quite a morale-denting collapse this early in the tournament. Bangladesh will need 157 runs to win when they come out to bat. Stay tuned as we come back for the run-chase.

OUT! Stumps shattered again and this is Mujeeb whose off-stump is uprooted. Farooqi the last man in. Short-leg is also in place now for the last man.

Shorigul continues. Pitched up and driven to point, where Mehidy puts in a brilliant save. OUT! Another Afghan loses his stumps and this time it is Omarzai. Angling in from back of a length. The ball misses the batter’s inside edge and goes off the thigh pad and onto the stumps. Naveen-ul-Haq comes in next.

Miraz replaces Shakib. OUT! Rashid has to go and just when AFG was looking to rebuild, it loses its star player. The ball takes Rashid’s inside edge as he look to play on this leg-side. Leg slip is in place now for Mujeeb. He gets off the mark with a single. FOUR! This runs to the boundary off an outside edge through a vacant slip cordon.

Here comes Shoriful again. Shortish angling away on off-stump and punched behind point and then to point for two consecutive dot balls. Shoriful now comes round the wicket and beats Rashid with one that nibbles away. FOUR! Rashid pokes at this short of a length delivery outside off and it goes off the outside edge to the boundary behind. 150 up for Afghanistan with a single for Rashid off the last ball of the 34th over.

Shakib will continue. Rashid punches to long-off for a single. One more for Omarzai at deep midwicket. Just three singles from it.

Taskin to continue. Length, angling in on off, and Rashid punches it to mid-off. Bouncer is too high and called wide. FOUR! Short again and this is pulled in front of the body by Omarzai to the midwicket fence.

Rashid Khan comes in and all Afghan hopes rest on him now. FOUR! Omarzai hammers this through the covers off the backfoot and a misfield inside the ring gives him a boundary. Rashid is off the mark with a crisp cut to deep cover for a single. FOUR!

Taskin comes back. Short of a length on off and punched through covers by Omarzai for a single. Nabi gets a single next ball with a flick through midwicket. Close! Inside edge and Omarzai almost chops on. This is sliced just over extra-cover by Omarzai for a single. Bouncer next up and Nabi takes evasive action. OUT! This has crashed into Nabi’s leg-stump as the ball seams in and goes through the batter, who tries to work this on leg-side. Afghanistan has lost its last five wickets for 44 runs and are in deep trouble.

Mohammad Nabi b Taskin 6 (12b)

OUT! Shakib has his third wicket and Najib is gone. An arm ball crashes through the stumps and Najib looks to play it on leg-side. Omarzai is in next.

Mustafizur to continue. Length angling in on off-stump and pushed through cover-point for a single. Width outside off and glided to sweeper cover for a single by Nabi. Shortish outside off and dabbed to third man for one more by Najib. A quick bouncer to end the over.

Miraz continues. A couple of singles to begin the over. Nabi is off the mark with a single as he punches off the backfoot through midwicket. Four singles off the first four balls now. Miraz is keeping it on a length and attacking the stumps. Najib pushes this fuller one back to the bowler. He drives in the air to long-off for a single off the last ball.

OUT! Huge wicket and Gurbaz has to go for 47 and Mustafizur strikes. Gurbaz is deceived by the slower ball as he look to clear the infield with a lofted shot and ends up skying a catch at deep cover. In comes Mohammad Nabi and he’ll have to steady the ship now. Four dot balls to end the over.

Mehidy Hasan with his fifth. He sees Shahidi making a move forward and drags his length back. Shahidi misses the ball and Mushfiqur makes a sharp stumping. But Shahidi is back in.

But his time out in the middle ends soon. Tries to take on Mehidy and can manage only an edge. Hridoy completes a safe catch.

Hashmatullah Shahidi c Towhid Hridoy b Mehidy Hasan Miraz 18 (38b 2x4 0x6)

AFG 112/3 in 25 overs.

Mustafizur back into attack. Short ball straight up. Gurbaz goes for the pull. But he doesn’t judge the pace correctly. Skews off the back off his bat. Luckily for Afghanistan it doesn’t lob up. Meanwhile, Shahidi dances down the track and hoicks one to the leg side for his second four.

Mehidy Hasan with his fifth over. He has reovered from that expensive first over. Both Afghan batters are struggling to take the initiative against the off-spinner.

Mahmudullah into the attack and he offers a half tracker. Shahidi is happy to pull it to the mid wicket fence for a four. That should do him a world of confidence. And that is also Afghanistan’s 100.

Mehidy continues to hold Afghan skipper down. Four dot balls to start the over. Shahidi takes a very risky single to get off the strike.

Another tidy over from Mehidy. Just one run from it.

Gurbaz releases the pressure with a cracking boundary. Shoriful gives room for Gurbaz and he smacks it to the mid wicket fence for a four. He is closing in on a well-deserved 50.

New batter Hasmat is struggling to get into the game. The left hander is having a difficult time adjusting to the conditions, particularly against Mehidy’s off spin.

Maiden Over!

Shakib continues to strangle the Afghan innings from the other end. Sharp and accurate, offering nothing to the batters. Just two runs added on.

Mehidy Hasan gets his second over. Gurbaz brings out the sweep. But he gains just a single. Another quiet over for Bangladesh, Just two runs from it.

The captain leading from the front.

It is the extra bounce which does the trick again. Rahmat tries to take the attack to Shakib and all he can do is edge it skywards. Litton Das completes a clean catch.

Rahmat Shah c Litton Das b Shakib Al Hasan 18 (25b 1x4 0x6)

Just one run from the over. AFG 84/2 in 16 overs.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz into the attack. Not the greatest start for him as he goes down the leg side and it runs away for a four. Rahmat brings out the ramp shot and collects two runs for his effort.

Shakib brings himself back. The Bangladesh skipper has shuffled his bowling cards well so far. He will be hoping to put and end to Gurbaz’s knock here. A misfield gives Gurbaz a chance to steal a double in the last ball of the over. Shakib is not happy with the effort there.

Shoriful back into attack and he almost draws a mistake from Rahmat first ball. Short and on the off side. The Afghan batter almost guides it to deep third man.

Shoriful offers width and Gurbaz is onto it in a flash. Sliced behind point for a four.

Another over for Mustafizur. He too targets Rahmat with a short ball. This time the pull shot yields only a couple of runs.

Gurbaz takes a single last ball of the over. Just three runs from the over.

The last couple of overs have taken the wind off Afghanistan’s sails. And now Shakib brings Taskin back. He keeps going short and Rahmat finally responds with a pull shot, which rushes to the boundary in front of square. First four for Rahmat.

Mustafizur with his third. He puts the new batter Rahmat under pressure immediately with a couple of outswingers. ‘The Fizz’ is getting some bounce from this pitch and that should be a troubling sight for the Afghan batters.

Ibrahim tries to take on Shakib with a sweep shot. He can only manage a top edge and Tanzid completes an easy catch.

Ibrahim Zadran c Tanzid Hasan b Shakib Al Hasan 22 (25b 3x4 1x6)

Bangladesh skipper closes out the over well. AFG 48/1 in 9 overs.

WHAT A SHOT!!

Full from Mustafizur and Gurbaz steps forward and lofts him for a six over long on, with a straight bat.

Short from Mustafizur and Gurbaz goes for the pull. But it comes off the batter’s shoulder. He needs medical attention and the players get a break.

Shakib brings himself on to bring the runrate in control. But Zadran has other ideas. He drives Shakib for a four to keep the momentum going. Seven runs from the over.

Mustafizur introduced into the attack. He starts with one that fizzes past Gurbaz’s outside edge. But he misses his line next up. Gurbaz happily flicks it away for a four.

Taskin starts with a couple of dot balls. Gurbaz pushes one to leg side to take a single to keep things moving. Taskin goes short and Zadran smacks him over square leg for the FIRST SIX OF THE MATCH!!!

Shoriful with his second. He begins by striking Zadran twice on the pads. Pitching outside leg and doesn’t merit much of an appeal. Zadran responds with a flowing cover drive. Hit it on the up and through covers. FOUR!!

Taskin continues. He misses his line, offering Zadran enough width. He slashes at it and it goes flying through covers for a four. Afghanistan off to a decent start. Taskin brings his line back in. Just a single from the over after that boundary.

Left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam is the other new ball operator for Bangladesh. Over the wicket. Slides one past Gurbaz’s outside edge straight up.

Too full from Shoriful and Gurbaz gets the first boundary of the game with a well-timed on drive.

Taskin Ahmed with the first over for Bangladesh. Gurbaz and Ibrahim are the openers for Afghanistan.

Gurbaz opens the account with a shot past point. Hridoy makes a diving save to prevent a boundary. Three runs taken.

Bangladesh beats Pakistan in a last-ball thriller to win the bronze medal at the Asian Games.

“We are excited about the World Cup in India. We have got a very good and well-prepared side this time. Some of our players have the IPL experience. Even those who haven’t played the IPL know the conditions because India is our home. So that advantage is there.”

“It’s chasing ground and there should be some help for seamers early on. It’s exciting to represent your country for the fifth time in the World Cup. We have got the team to perform well. It’s important to start well.”

Afghanistan - Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Bangladesh Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan (C), Mushfiqur Rahim†, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Bangladesh wins the toss and Shakib decides to field first.

BANGLADESH

Shakib al Hasan (c), Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed.

AFGHANISTAN

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil, Noor Ahmad, Azmatullah Omarzai.

Matches played: 15

Bangladesh won: 9

Afghanistan won: 6

Last result: Bangladesh won by 89 runs (Lahore; Sep. 2023)

Last five results: BAN won -2; AFG won - 3

BANGLADESH

Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Das (vc), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tanzid Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Sakib, Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.

AFGHANISTAN

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be telecast LIVE on the Star Sports Network from 10:30 AM IST. The match will also be available for LIVE streaming on the Disney+Hotstar app and website.

Bangladesh and Afghanistan will kickstart their campaigns away from the urban cauldrons, at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, overlooked by the picturesque Dhauladhar range, where the bowlers can accurately be described to be running in from the Himalayas.

Afghanistan’s composition remains spin-centric, but it is its top-order batting that is encouraging.

However, the middle order remains more inclined towards powerful finishes than rebuilds. Even Rashid Khan is better suited for a lower-order biff, not a middle-overs spurt. Among the 15 players, there are only three left-handed batters, so leg spinners may enjoy taking on this line-up.