'Match-fitness is important'

As Afghanistan's Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi were calmly resisting everything the Bangladesh bowlers were throwing at them during 144-run second-wicket partnership, it was hard to tell that the team doing the catching up were the overwhelming favourites coming into the three-match series.

There was always the possibility that Bangladesh's 11-month absence from ODI cricket would result in some rustiness. It was evident in their innings of 265 all out which, despite having substantial scores from Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad, never really got into fifth gear.  They would have to count on their greater experience and calibre to pull through in the first ODI.

That is what happened in a narrow victory over the over-achieving Associate Member nation in Mirpur yesterday. What the Tigers possibly counted on was their best cricketer to be operating at a level too hot for Afghanistan and like he has so often done before, Shakib Al Hasan delivered with telling hands with both the ball and the bat to end up with the man-of-the-match award.

"Actually, our job is not to worry; our job is to do it and keep the belief that we can win the game and that belief was there," said Shakib with his typical insouciant charm when asked if they were worried when the Afghans looked like stealing the show. "Because we are playing after almost a year there was some rustiness in all of us. It showed in the body language; our fielding wasn't that good.

"No matter how many practice matches you play or how much you train, playing international cricket requires match-fitness, which is a different thing altogether. Hopefully in the next two matches the performance will improve."

It was Shakib who turned things around -- first by breaking the partnership between Rahmat and Hashmatullah, then by bowling a terrific 47th over that yielded just a single run and stopped Afghanistan in their tracks, enabling the returning pace duo of Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain to pocket the remaining five wickets as Afghanistan lost the plot. There was no false modesty from Shakib as he identified those two instances as the turning points in a close match.

The pace duo's returns, especially Taskin's from a suspension for an illegal bowling action, was an intriguing subplot and it would have pleased the team management to no end that they came good after inauspicious starts. Rubel bowled a tight 49th over and picked up a wicket while Taskin picked up two each in the 48th and 50th to end with figures of four for 59 from eight overs.

"One returned from injury and one returned from suspension, so it was difficult for both," Shakib said of his teammates. "At the start they didn't do well but the last three overs they bowled solidly. Rubel's over was very important, and he bowled very well. Taskin bowled his last two overs very well."

He had generous words for his vanquished opponents, the empathy perhaps brought on by the fact that not long ago Bangladesh routinely lost close matches such as this. "The situation was such that they should have won. Maybe it was a lack of experience that had an effect, and for us our greater experience worked."

Afghanistan batsman Najibullah Zadran was understandably smarting from a defeat that could so easily have been a famous win in their short but inspirational cricket journey.

"We played well and as you saw 265 was a chaseable target on this pitch," he said. "Unfortunately our batsmen played some wrong shots in the end. Bangladesh played well, their bowlers bowled well and that's why they are winners."