Recent Match Report - Afghanistan vs Bangladesh 1st ODI 2024 ...

Innings Afghanistan 235 (Nabi 84, Shahidi 52, Taskin 4-53, Mustafizur 4-58) vs Bangladesh

The pitch in Sharjah had such a sheen that if you looked at it, you could mistake it for a mirror. It was a bat-first pitch, and Afghanistan's captain Hashmatullah Shahidi opted to do exactly that in the first ODI against Bangladesh, expecting the pitch to help the spinners later. However, Shahidi saw his side slip to 35 for 4 in the tenth over, and then 71 for 5 in the 20th on what turned out to be a slow surface.

By then, Mustafizur Rahman had struck three times for Bangladesh, while Taskin Ahmed had got two wickets. But Shahidi, who was firm at one end, got Mohammad Nabi for company in doing the repair job for Afghanistan. Their 104-run partnership took 122 balls - a nice pace given the situation in which they had started - in the second of three parts of Afghanistan's innings.

Once that stand was broken, Bangladesh were back in the game, eventually restricting Afghanistan to 235 despite Nabi's knock of 84 from 79 deliveries.

The new ball was swinging in Sharjah, and Taskin struck in the second over of the day when he had Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 5, edging behind to Mushfiqur Rahim in an attempt to drive while walking down the pitch. But Afghanistan's debutant, opening batter Sediqullah Atal, showed no signs of nervousness in his first ODI. He pulled Taskin for consecutive boundaries to end the fourth over, before lofting him over mid-off in the sixth.

Meanwhile, Mustafizur dismissed a struggling Rahmat Shah for 2 off 13 balls by having him edge to Mushfiqur as well, before ending the powerplay with two more wickets. He went wide of the crease, and swung a fullish delivery into Atal, who missed his attempted drive, and was trapped in front for 21. Three balls later, Azmatullah Omarzai got a faint tickle behind to Mushfiqur to depart for a duck.

Shahidi and Gulbadin Naib added 36 to briefly rebuild, before Taskin had Naib, on 22, pull a shortish ball to midwicket and set Afghanistan back again to end the 20th over. That is when Shahidi and Nabi joined hands, and fought back.

While Shahidi was happy to be patient and tick along the singles, Nabi started with a lot more purpose. He dispatched his sixth ball, off Rishad Hossain, for a massive six over deep midwicket - a shot he repeated off the same bowler with the same result in the 27th over. In between, Bangladesh burned a review when Rishad and Mushfiqur thought Shahidi had edged behind, only for replays to show a big gap between bat and ball.

The fifty stand between Shahidi and Nabi came up in the 30th over, and although Nabi had struck only one more boundary by the 34th over, he had reached 40 off just 41 deliveries while Shahidi was on 44 from 78. Come the 37th over, Nabi was the first to reach his half-century off 52 balls - his 17th in ODIs - as he cut Rishad through point for two. Next ball, he went slogging but mistimed, as the ball landed just short of the man at long-off, who was running forward.

Next over, more luck went Nabi's way when he went jabbing at a ball from Mahmudullah, and got an outside edge, only for there to be no slip. Shahidi, meanwhile, took 87 deliveries to get to fifty, remaining content to play second fiddle. Shahidi survived a tight run-out chance at the start of the 40th over, when he pushed the ball to point and the two batters took off for a run. But Shahidi, who was halfway down, was sent back by Nabi, and barely made it at the last second, before Mushfiqur whipped the bails off.

However, he chopped on off Mustafizur in the 41st - for 52 off 92 deliveries - as Bangladesh checked Afghanistan. Soon after, Rashid Khan swatted one to midwicket off Shoriful Islam, but Nabi looked unmoved. He took Afghanistan to 200 with four overs remaining, and heaved Mustafizur for six over midwicket in the 47th over. Nangeyalia Kharote, who arrived after Rashid was caught, contributed a crucial unbeaten 27, with two fours and a six in the death overs, even as Taskin struck back-to-back in the 48th.

Both Taskin and Mustafizur finished with four wickets on a pitch which might only get slower as Bangladesh's chase of 236 progresses.