DHAKA: Paceman Taskin Ahmed made a brilliant comeback to international cricket as he claimed four wickets to steer Bangladesh to pull off a thrilling seven-run win in the first One-day International against Afghanistan on Sunday.
Replying to Bangladesh’s 265 runs, Afghanistan looked to be well in control when Hashmatullah (72) and Rahmat Shah (71) put on a solid 144 runs for the third wicket partnership.
Shakib Al Hasan (2-26) broke the stand before the hosts clawed their way back to dismiss Afghanistan for 258 runs in the last ball of the final over.
Bangladesh now lead the three-match series 1-0 lead.
Taskin, who was cleared to bowl in international cricket just two days ago, held his nerve in the final over, when Afghanistan needed 13 runs, but the visitors, who lost their last six wickets for 28 runs, could mange just five.
Shakib’s exploit enabled him overtake Abdur Razzak as Bangladesh’s leading wicket taker in ODIs with 208 scalps.
Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah earlier struck half-centuries to guide Bangladesh to a respectable total after skipper Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and elected to bat first.
The home side, playing their first ODI in 11 months, suffered a blow in the first over when Dawlat Zadran dismissed Soumya Sarkar for a duck, but the top order soon regained the initiative.
Tamim struck nine fours in his 80 off 98 balls and in the process became the first Bangladeshi to score 9,000 runs in international cricket.
He put on 83 with Imrul Kayes (37) for the second wicket and then another 79 with Mahmudullah for the third wicket before being removed by Mirwais Ashraf.
Mahmudullah smashed 62 off 74 balls and looked poised for a big innings after reaching his half-century with a boundary off Dawlat.
Off-spinner Mohammad Nabi removed Mahmudullah, who also struck five fours in his innings, in his next over.
Dawlat claimed four wickets for 73 while Nabi and spinner Rashid Khan grabbed two wickets each for Afghanistan.
Scoreboard
BANGLADESH:
Tamim Iqbal c Naveen b Ashraf 80
Soumya Sarkar c Shabir b Dawlat 0
Imrul Kayes b Nabi 37
Mahmudullah c Ashraf b Nabi 62
Shakib Al Hasan c Najibullah b Dawlat48
Mushfiqur Rahim b Rashid Khan 6
Sabbir Rahman lbw b Rashid Khan 2
Mashrafe Mortaza c Rashid b Naveen 4
Taijul Islam c Rahmat b Dawlat 11
Taskin Ahmed b Dawlat 2
Rubel Hossain not out 1
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-10) 12
TOTAL (all out, 50 overs) 265
FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-84, 3-163, 4-203, 5-215, 6-227, 7-246, 8-254, 9-260.
BOWLING: Dawlat Zadran 10-0-73-4 (5w); Naveen-ul Haq 10-0-62-1 (2w); Mohammad Nabi 10-0-40-2 (1w); Mirwais Ashraf 10-0-51-1 (1w); Rashid Khan 10-0-37-2 (1w).
AFGHANISTAN:
Shabir Noori lbw b Shakib 9
M. Shahzad c Mushfiqur b Mashrafe 31
Rahmat Shah st Mushfiqur b Shakib 71
Hashmatullah Shahidi c Soumya b Taijul 72
Mohammad Nabi c Sabbir b Sabbir 30
Najibullah Zadran c Mushfiqur b Mashrafe 7
Asghar Stanikzai c M’dullah b Taskin 10
Rashid Khan b Rubel 7
Mirwais Ashraf lbw b Taskin 3
Dawlat Zadran c Sabbir b Taskin 2
Naveen-ul-Haq not out 0
EXTRAS (B-1 LB-2 W-13) 16
TOTAL (all out, 50 overs) 258
FALL OF WKTS: 1-46, 2-46, 3-190, 4-210, 5-230, 6-243, 7-245, 8-253, 9-255.
BOWLING: Mashrafe Mortaza 10-0-42-2 (1w); Taskin Ahmed 8-0-59-4 (6w); Shakib Al Hasan 10-0-26-2 (2w); Rubel Hossain 9-0-62-1 (3w); Taijul Islam 10-0-44-1 (1w); Mohammad Mahmudullah 3-0-22-0.
RESULT: Bangladesh won by seven runs.
Umpires: Sharfuddoula Saikat (Bangladesh) and C. Shamshuddin (India).
TV UMPIRE: Anisur Rahman (Bangladesh).
MATCH REFEREE: Richie Richardson (West Indies).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Shakib Al Hasan.
SECOND MATCH: Dhaka (D/N), Wednesday.
THIRD MATCH: Dhaka (D/N), Saturday.
Published in Dawn September 26th, 2016
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