All that went right for Bangladesh against Afghanistan
On Saturday, Bangladesh won their first match in the men's ODI Cricket World Cup for the third year in a row: against Afghanistan in 2015, in 2019 against South Africa, and this time against Afghanistan. Bangladesh has started their World Cup 2023 journey with a convincing win. Tuning out all off-the-field buzz, the Tigers presented themselves as a cohesive unit to complete their largest win by deliveries remaining as they met the target score of a meagre 157 runs with 92 balls left. Their previous best was 52 balls remaining against the Netherlands.
Afghanistan's openers got off to a relatively good start, on a pitch that was considered to be suitable to bat on after Bangladesh won the toss and chose to field. Shakib led from the front by bringing himself onto bowl in only the sixth over. Indeed, the pitch turned out to be good for spin as, by the end of the day, both Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan shared six wickets between themselves. In his second over, Shakib provided the first breakthrough for Bangladesh by returning opener Ibrahim Zadran to the dugout. The score was 47-1.
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There were quite a few bowling changes which possibly raised eyebrows but ultimately resulted in the right outcome. Shakib brought himself on for a second spell in the 13th over and this time, too, he picked up a wicket in his second over. Afghanistan added 36 runs before Rahmat Shah was caught out by Liton Das off Shakib's bowling, just when a partnership seemed to have been building. From then on, Bangladesh kept chipping away at the Afghanistan batters, making sure they never got comfortable. Still, at 112-3, it seemed possible that the Afghans would go on to put up a fighting total. However, seven wickets were wrapped up by the Tigers for only 44 runs. Miraz – who later became Player of the Match – was the most economical bowler (at 2.77 runs per over), as his deliveries provided virtually no room for the Afghan batters to play attacking cricket. Mounting pressure saw the opposition make poor choices of shots, which the Bangladeshi fielders took proper advantage of. Throughout Afghanistan's batting innings, Bangladeshi bowlers maintained a high level of discipline in their line and length, capitalised on the regular wickets, and prevented any partnerships from emerging. Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, and Taskin Ahmed all provided good support to the spinners and picked up wickets.
Bangladesh's run chase was a frill-free affair, as the team did just what was needed to secure their first victory in this World Cup. As we have seen in the recent past, there is a lack of stability in the Tigers' top order and this continued as both Tanzid Tamim and Liton Das fell in quick succession. This being Tanzid's first World Cup, it is naturally a daunting situation for him. Moreover, this was only his sixth international match, which arguably explains why he seemed a bit nervous on the pitch and attempted a few too many shots. And while Liton Das had a spectacular 2022, he has found it difficult to regain his rhythm since his injury. However, Miraz was seen to play all across the batting order and has scored runs consistently. His form, coupled with Najmul Hossain Shanto's terrific run of 2023, provides a lot of mettle in Bangladesh's top order. Together, these two built a partnership of nearly 100, which meant that the Tigers were almost across the finish line. Even though Afghan bowlers barely had any runs to defend, their fielders let them down. They have the lowest catch efficiency of all the teams playing in this World Cup and, to reinforce that status, the Afghans dropped Miraz twice in his innings of 57. Najmul Hossain Shanto remained not-out at 59.
The Afghan team is a strong opponent in T20 cricket and many of their star players have regular outings in franchise cricket. This means that they have better control over the T20 format. To excel in ODI cricket can be an opportunity as much as it can be a challenge. In the 20-over format, there is barely any room to breathe – from the get-go, one has to play attacking cricket. In contrast, the 50-over game lets one settle in, read the pitch, and take their time to find the rhythm of the field and the purchase that bowlers are getting from it. ODIs also allow a player who has not been in form the time to get their groove back. But the mental pressure and stamina involved in dominating a whole day's match cannot be equated with the skills that the Afghans have mastered. They are great hitters of the ball, can score runs quickly, and have a fighting spirit (with a decent bowling lineup). But an ODI match allows the teams a comfortable enough stretch of time to shift momentums back and forth between two opponents. When the game is not going in one's favour, it becomes a big test of perseverance and patience to see through the rough patch till the team can play freely. Afghanistan can have a better journey ahead, as they look to break their 13-match losing streak with this World Cup by focusing on the less exciting aspects of the game: rotating the strike, building partnerships, and holding on to catches.
Bangladesh will look to make the most of their momentum as they prepare for the next match against the defending World Cup champion, England. Regardless of the strength of the opposition, if the Tigers play confident cricket and rely on their strengths, they can prove to be a challenge for any opponent. They have two inform players in Shanto and Miraz, with the latter building a good foundation to be a worthy all-rounder successor to Shakib. The Tigers' pace attack has also matured, and there are good options in Nasum Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan if an extra spinner is needed who can also add batting depth to the lower-middle order.
Madiha Athar Khan is a technical writer at Optimizely, and an art enthusiast leading the Art for Soul movement. She can be reached at madiha1923@gmail.com
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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