Live report - Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, World Cup 2023

Here's what Mehidy Hasan Miraz had to say after his all-round show: It's a great moment for me. I did a lot of hard work in the past. The team management deserves credit. I was a little bit cautious in my mind early on while bowling but the captain told me to bowl at the right areas and told me to be consistent and that gave me confidence so credit goes to the captain. (on batting) I go for ball by ball and how to get better on this surface. The wicket was turning a little bit but I tried to stay (on the crease). I always play at number 8 so it was a great opportunity to bat in the top order. I always have the hungriness so definitely it's a great moment for me to perform.

Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan Captain: We had a good start but in the middle after fall of first wicket, we had bad shot selections but their bowlers bowled very tight. I think we fought well (in the field) but the score wasn't enough. Still we had a good fight and we look forward to our upcoming games. We should learn from our mistakes and we have to (focus) on the England game

Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh Captain: We didn't get the start we wanted, everyone believed once we get a wicket, we could get more. It wasn't easy but I am very happy the way we bowled. We have been training really hard in the last few days and we didn't want to make any excuse that the ground isn't ideal and we talked about that in the dressing room. I am happy to contribute with my bowling, as I said all our five bowlers chipped in, they contributed, spinners played a bigger role but it's a long tournament, I am sure fast bowlers will contribute more. Mehidy, Shanto...these are our inform players; they are always confident and want to do well for the team.

They win by six wickets and 92 balls remaining. Bangladesh's biggest win in terms of balls remaining in a World Cup. Previous best was 52 versus Netherlands in the 2011 World Cup. Lots of controversies coming into the World Cup, but Bangladesh have put those behind and come up with an all-round show.

The bowlers first did their job in restricting Afghanistan to 156 with Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz picking three wickets each. In reply, they lost two wickets early, but Mehidy and Najmul Hossain Shanto kept things steady adding 97 for the third wicket.

Mehidy rode his luck scoring 57 while Shanto finished things off, unbeaten on 59 as Bangladesh wrapped up the chase in 34.4 overs. Afghanistan were quite poor in the field, dropping two chances while there were a number of misfields as well. Having said that, the outfield in Dharamsala was far from ideal.

Lights on in Dharamsala as Najmul Hossain Shanto gets to fifty. Shanto has been Bangladesh’s shining light this year. He is the highest run-scorer for Bangladesh this year and is continuing on the good run. Shanto has six fifties and two centuries to his name this year and Bangladesh will want him to carry on.

Mohammad Isam with another interesting Shanto-Mehidy story: With their 97-run third wicket stand against Afghanistan, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz have now added two big partnerships in consecutive innings batting together. They added 194 for the third wicket, also against Afghanistan, in the Asia Cup last month, with both scoring hundreds. It only ended when Mehidy had to retire hurt due to cramps. Shanto and Mehidy were consistently good at batting together in their Under-19 days. They had a century and eight fifty partnerships in the 21 innings. Their 863 runs was the fourth highest among Youth ODIs all-time partnerships till the 2016 World Cup.

Mehidy's luck finally runs out and it took a SCREAMER to get him off the field. Both Mehidy and Shanto looked to up the scoring rate with an eye on the net run rate. While Shanto got a four and six away, Mehidy also smacked Rashid for four. He looked for a repeat against Naveen-ul-Haq lofting the bowler. While he did not get all of it, it felt the ball would clear mid-off. But, Rahmat Shah keeps his balance and times his jump to perfection to complete a one-handed stunner. The third umpire had a look to check if the catch was clean....and it was. Mehidy's innings ends on 57. Matt also informs that it has suddenly for very dark and overcast in Dharamsala.

Mehidy has ridden his luck big time today. He was dropped twice and has had a few inside-edges going his way too. And again, the run of the green goes Mehidy's way. Mujeeb's googly finds Mehidy trapped in the crease. The ball fizzed and thudded into his pads. A prolonged appeal ensued with umpire Joel Wilson finally raising his finger. Mehidy consults his partner and takes the review. The bat and pad are very close to each other. The third umpire Ahsan Raza takes a few looks and reckons there was an inside-edge back onto the pads. He then tells the on-field umpire to stay with NOT OUT decision but it was actually an OUT. Raza then takes a few looks at the replay again and asks umpire Wilson to CHANGE his decision. Afghanistan are not at all pleased. Confusion all around and Mehidy survives.

Here's Mohammad Isam, who's watched a fair bit of Mehidy Hasan Miraz: Like a football team that passes the ball to the striker on a hot streak, Bangladesh are also sending Mehidy Hasan Miraz at the first hint of crisis. Today it was at No. 3, a new batting position for Mehidy but nothing new about shifting around Mehidy around the batting line-up. This is his fifth position, having already opened in three games, and batted at No. 5 (once), 7 (four times) and 8 (five times). He also batted at No 3 in the warm-up game against Sri Lanka, scoring a rapid 67, and another 74 batting at No 4 against England in the second warm-up. Mehidy recorded another half-century.

After a bit of a shaky start, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz have kept the chase on track. The duo have crossed the fifty-run stand and are looking very comfortable. Only Rashid Khan has looked threatening. He has landed the wrong’uns on point with both batters not reading him off the hand. Nothing much happening otherwise as well. Bangladesh have not recorded a four since the 13th over but these two have kept the scoreboard ticking, which is enough. Mehidy has ridden his luck, but has hung on, which is key.

Not great fielding from Afghanistan. Naveen-ul-Haq gets the short ball going his way outside off. Mehidy looks to ramp it but does not get all of it. Mujeeb at deep third reacts late to his right, and in the end just sticks out the right hand. The ball does not stick. Mujeeb reacted late, but even then he could have used both hands, I think. Two chances have gone down already, both off Mehidy.

Afghanistan are fighting, no doubt about that. Farooqi induces a thick inside-edge off Litton Das' blade that thuds into leg stump. It was a length ball outside off that Litton went hard at. Could only manage a chop-on. Mehidy, however, starts strongly. Starts off with a flourishing cover drive before pulling Farooqi over square leg. Farooqi should have had Mehidy in the ninth over, but Najibullah Zadran shelled a straightforward chance at point. Mehidy slapped the length ball hard but Zadran reacted too meekly. Afghanistan have done well to restrict Bangladesh in the first ten overs, but wickets are the key.

What was Tanzid doing there? Litton taps a length ball to the right of point, who hares to his right and sends down a flat throw nailing a direct hit at the non-striker's end. Tanzid backed up too much and was a touch lazy in turning back. The direct hit finds him inches short. A dive at the end and he would have been in. Mehidy Hasan Miraz walks in at No.3.

Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman start off with the ball. But both have been off the boil so far. Farooqi has found some swing but his lines to the left-hander have been down leg. Mujeeb also starts with a couple of balls down leg that are flicked either side of short fine leg.

The surface has kept a touch slow and the Afghanistan spin trio will be keen on doing well. They don't have a huge score to defend, but early wickets will be keen. Matt Roller says that Afghanistan's spinners have been out there warming up for a good 10 minutes now, Nabi while wearing his red wide-brim sunhat. Would be shocked if Mujeeb doesn't take one of the new balls given the slowness of the surface.

The two Bangladesh spinners are out in the middle. No Tamim Iqbal, remember. It will be Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan are out. And while Tamim might not be here, his fans have come out in numbers. This one group has a message for the former Bangladesh captain.

37.2 overs Afghanistan 156 allout (Gurbaz 47, Ibrahim 22, Mehidy 3-25, Shakib 3-30) vs Bangladesh

That's that! A collapse of epic proportions for Afghanistan. They were 83 for 1 after 15 overs and have slid to 156 all-out after 37.2, losing 73 for 9 in 22.2 overs. Shakib and Mehidy led the way with three wickets apiece, while Shoriful Islam picked two wickets. Rahmanullah Gurbaz top scored with 47 but none of the other batters could contribute much. Shoriful ended the Afghan innings with Naveen-ul-Haq pulling straight to deep midwicket.

Here's Mehidy who took 3 for 25 off nine overs with three maidens: I am really happy that I got three wickets, I was a bit nervous in the first over. Captain told me if I bowl in good areas, it will be better. I think the wicket is little tricky, sometimes holding and sometimes going straight so I just tried to bowl in good areas. It's a good opportunity for us to finish (the match) early but most important thing for us it to win. Shakib Bhai got early wickets and put pressure on opponents, it's a great moment for us because captain is leading from the front

The wickets continue to tumble and Afghanistan are now nine down. Azmatullah Omarzai went the attacking way cracking Shakib Al Hasan for a couple of fours in an over. Rashid Khan also struck Shoriful for a four, but was soon sent back by Mehidy. He was looking to turn a length ball to the on-side, gets a thin inside edge that rattles the off stump. Shoriful then returns and ends Omarzai's sprightly knock for 22. Mehidy then claims the ninth wicket of teh Afghanistan innings by casting Mujeeb Ur Rahman for 1. Mujeeb had forgotten his abdomen guard, which led to a few laughs.

A collapse that was orchestrated by the spinners and is now being continued by the seam bowlers. Taskin Ahmed gets into the act sending back Mohammad Nabi. A sharp back of a length ball outside off, Nabi looks for a cut, can only get a thick inside-edge that sends the leg stump cartwheeling. Afghanistan have lost four wickets for 14 runs off 32 balls.

Here's the sequence:

Here's Matt Roller: This looks like a very slow pitch but Afghanistan are going even slower. They were 83 for 1 after 15 overs, but have collapsed since the drinks break, struggling to rotate the strike against spin. Bangladesh’s main fingerspinners, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan, have kept things pretty simple with tight lines and good lengths, and have combined figures of 4 for 36 from their 13 overs. Hashmatullah Shahidi, the captain, was particularly culpable after drinks. He was clearly trying to build a partnership with Rahmanullah Gurbaz but just couldn’t get himself off strike, with the result that Gurbaz found himself stuck at the wrong end. He did eventually accelerate a little, turning 5 off 22 balls into 18 off 38, but his side are now relying on the lower order to bail them out.

Najibullah Zadran now departs and Shakib has turned this game Bangladesh's way all the way. This goes on with the arm from the over-the-wicket angle. Zadran plays down the wrong line, probably thought that would turn, but it kept going on straight. Misses and sees his stumps in a mess.

And it is the big wicket of Rahmnullah Gurbaz! The slower one from the Fizz does the job. Gurbaz strides down the track but does not account for the slower ball. In the end, he can only slice it to deep cover, who gallops in and takes a good catch. Again, the point that Matt earlier made about the ball travelling at higher altitudes. Gurbaz is absolutely filthy with himself. He is down on his haunches while Fizz tumbles in joy. Shakib is super pumped. Gurbaz has thrown away a start and Bangladesh firmly on top.

Reward for some excellent bowling from Mehidy who had the Afghanistan captain in all sorts. In all, Mehidy bowled 22 balls to Hashmatullah Shahidi, who could only score 3 runs. Could never get him away at any stage and in the end throws his wicket away. Mehidy sees him coming down the track and holds back his length. Shahidi goes through with the slog, loses his shape as the ball balloons to Hridoy who takes a simple catch at the edge of the 30-yard circle. Bangladesh spinners have the Afghan batters on a leash.

The fast bowlers have not been as effective so far, but the spinners have the Afghan batters in trouble. While Shakib Al Hasan struck twice, Mehidy at the other end has kept things steady. After four tight overs between 15 to 19, Shoriful was brought back into the attack and Gurbaz immediately went after him. Hashmatullah Shahidi has really been pegged back by the Bangladesh bowlers. He is on 4 off 17. Will need to set things straight soon.

You just can't keep him out of the game, can you! Just when a partnership was building nicely. Shakin tosses this one outside off as Rahmat Shah eyes the sweep. But the line is a bit outside off which means he has to fetch for it. Rahmat can only get a top edge that spoons straight up with short cover making no mistake. Rahmat is livid with himself as he walks back. Shakib has both wickets so far.

Mustafizur Rahman has held up an excellent line and length but the same can't be said about Shoriful, who is looking all over the place. Gurbaz cuts him past point before hooking him to deep midwicket for two more. Mehidy Hasan Miraz is introduced into the attack. Not much purchase for him in his first over.

Matt Roller, who is keeping a close eye on proceedings chimes in: My main early observation from Dharamsala is that the ball really does travel differently at high altitude. This venue is nearly 1,500 metres above sea level with the Himalayas in the backdrop, and the ball flies once it's in the air - Gurbaz's six off Mustafizur looked like little more than a checked on-drive, while Zadran's dismissal didn't look as though it would carry to deep backward square leg off the bat but did comfortably. The flags to my left are being battered about by a cross-wind and the boundaries here are on the small side too. Neither side has had much opportunity to train since arriving here and it may be that this game is decided by who adapts best to conditions.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz skips down the track and pummels Mustafizur Rahman for a six over long-on. That does not please the fast bowler, who sends down a spearing bouncer that thuds into Gurbaz’s right shoulder. There was a bit of glove as well with the ball lobbing towards the keeper, but Mushfiqur couldn’t reach the ball.

The very next over, Shakib strikes as he so often does. Ibrahim shapes up for a sweep but Shakib lands it slower and outside off. Ibrahim fails to keep his sweep down with the top edge carrying all the way to deep square leg. Huge blow to Afghanistan.

Ibrahim Zadran has been Afghanistan’s rock at the top of the order. He tops the run-charts for Afghanistan in ODIs since January 2022 with 925 runs 19 innings at 57.81. In his debut ODI World Cup game, Ibrahim is showing no signs of nerves. Starts off with a cracking drive past point off Taskin before lacing a cover drive off Shoriful. Taskin then tries a short ball but Ibrahim says no problem as he sends a pull soaring over the deep backward square leg fence. As a result, Shakib Al Hasan had to come in early, in the seventh over, but even he was met with a punchy drive from Ibrahim. Afghanistan are off to a flying start.

Meawhile, in the USA, you can watch the Afghanistan vs Bangladesh match LIVE on ESPN+.

Shoriful Islam gets a full swinging into him, but no concerns for the opener, who brings out of a flourishing flick through mid-on. Slow outfield or no, that was timed to perfection. Shoriful hasn’t hit his stride yet. Bowled two wides down leg, while his lengths were also off.

The two Afghanistan openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran are out in the middle. Taskin Ahmed with the new ball. Two slips in place. Will he get some swing? He does, but hasn't troubled Gurbaz as yet. He gets a flourishing cover-point going his way but the outfield isn't that quick. Gets three to get off the mark. Taskin comes back with a beauty squaring Gurbaz up.

Afghsnistan's first followed by Bangladesh. A few Afghan supporters in the stands as well, but have comfortably been outnumbered by the Bangladesh fans.

There is likely to be some nip in the air for the fast bowlers first up. Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman will in all likelihood get some purchase which they will want to extract. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah’s roles become doubly important now. They have been the cornerstone of the Afghan batting unit for the last two years and will be tested early.

Here's Rashid Khan speaking to the host broadcaster: It's a special occasion and we are so excited about the World Cup happening in Asia. In England there were different conditions (in 2019). That was my first World Cup. Now I am a bit more calm, which I was lacking back then. We play a lot of home games in Dehradun and Lucknow - the conditions are more or less same everywhere in India. I have played a lot of IPL and games for Afghanistan here. Yes, it's a different format but that experience should help.

Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Bangladesh: 1 Litton Das, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Towhid Hridoy, 8 Mahmudullah, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

And they will field first, says captain Shakib Al Hasan. Generally, it's a ground where teams chase well. Some help for the fast bowlers early. It is exciting. To be able to represent the country for the fifth time [in World Cups], it is great. Here you can only enjoy, be positive. Just put everything together. We have to enjoy the tournament. We have the team to do it.

Hashmatullah Shahidi: We are excited. I am more confident that we will do well in this World Cup. We were also looking to field as well. This [having played in India] advantage is with us. Lots of boys have played in the IPL. India was also our home ground.

Here's Nasser Hussain and Matthew Hayden: Slightly shorter hit leg side, 75 metres down the ground. Bounce will be a factor. Quite a lot of grass here. There has been some elevated bounce in the past. That is because this is India’s wow factor ground. Lovely surface, a really good smattering of grass. The ball will come on nicely. It is a change of season so the outfield might be slow. Decent pitch, a lovely view, be careful in the outfield.

Matt Roller also says that there are lots of college students queuing up to get in the ground. Plenty of Bangladesh jerseys in the stands already too.

Bangladesh have a group of youngsters who have an Under-19 World Cup title from three years ago. Towhid Hridoy, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan and Tanzim Hasan are all primed to make a mark in their first senior 50-over World Cup. For Afghanistan, a lot will depend on how their spin trio Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman perform. Both teams will be keen on shedding the big tournament underperformer's tag. Read more in Mohammad Isam's preview.

Bangladesh’s lead-up to the World Cup has been far from ideal. They had a disappointing Asia Cup campaign and are coming off a 2-0 defeat against New Zealand at home. Their off-field issues have hogged the limelight significantly more than what’s happening on the field. Afghanistan, on the other hand, does not have a great record in the World Cup. They have played two ODI World Cups before this (2015 and 2019) and have a solitary win, against Scotland, in their 15 matches.