In the first double header of the ODI World Cup 2023, Bangladesh faced Afghanistan in Dharamsala. Bangladesh made the wise decision of bowling first with the hope of early wickets.
The pacers’ difficulties executing their runups, which contributed to them lacking rhythm and being inefficient with the fresh ball. This prompted Shakib al Hasan to raise his hand and take the first two wickets. Hasmatullah Shahidi entered and instantly became hooked to the fold. After many dots, Bangladesh entered the picture and completely dominated.
That was a crucial turning point since Afghanistan completely lost momentum after losing their set batter Rahmatullah Gurbaz and ultimately their direction. Shakib scalped 3 wickets. Mehidy’s non-turner caused the batters some problems. Shoriful cleaned the tail, and Fizz and Taskin each received a wicket. The Bangladesh team had to chase down a below-average total of 157 in their 50 overs.
Bangladesh chase down mediocre total to gain two points
Bangladesh started off decently but lost an early wicket which might have given the opposition some hope. More early wicket losses for Bangladesh may have caused some panic in the camp. However, once more it ended up being Miraz who showed his worth and was bringing some luck with him.
His combination with Shanto gave Bangladesh the upper hand, and they ultimately crossed the finish line with 6 wickets. A victory that will lift Bangladesh’s spirits and they can move onto the next one riding high. Afghanistan will look at the pros and cons from this massive defeat and would look to bounce back.
“I just tried to play straight” : Mehidy Hasan Miraz
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the man of the match spoke to the media about his splendid performance as he said, “It’s a great moment for me, I’ve done a lot of hard work in the past. Credit to the team management because they believed in me. I was a bit cautious, the captain told me to bowl in the right areas. He told me to be consistent and to focus on my own performance so credit to the captain. I took it ball by ball, didn’t look at the runs.”
The spinner added that, “Wicket was turning a bit, I just tried to play straight. I’ve always batted at no.8 so a great moment for me to bat at the top of the order. They tried me at the top of the order in the last few matches and it’s a great moment for me.”
Fans react as Bangladesh claim 6-wicket victory over Afghanistan during ODI World Cup 2023:
BANGLADESH BEAT AFGHANISTAN BY 6 WICKETS….!!!
Mehidy Hasan is the hero with 57 runs & 3 wickets – The X factor of Bangladesh in the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/0IBziR9VlQ
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 7, 2023
Jadeja will our X factor like this guy ?
— Useer45 (@140of113) October 7, 2023
Owned rashid khan
— VilenAFC (@vilen_AFC) October 7, 2023
Excellent win and bad start for Afghanistan. Bad day as Afghanistan lost the gold ? and then BD win in one sided game.
— Qamar Zahoor (@qamarzahor) October 7, 2023
Afghanistan ?? ko harta dekhne mein jo tassali mili.. Wo kahin aur nhi milti ??
— Aamir Mumtaz??? (@thisisaamiir) October 7, 2023
Namak haramo ka software update
— M? (@staaa_plarrr) October 7, 2023
Paakkii looking ???
— Xi jingping (Parody) (@xipingaoc) October 7, 2023
Aaj to dono taraf Bangladesh jeeta hai…nagin dance to Banta hi hai ?
— Bolo Yaarrrr (@ShaRo45264) October 7, 2023
What a thrilling victory for Bangladesh! ??? Mehidy Hasan's outstanding performance with both the bat and the ball truly makes him the X factor for the team in this World Cup.
— AskClues (@AskClues) October 7, 2023
A contender to potm tbh he is living in his dream form what a great find from Bangladesh ??
— ??Munis Qureshi?? (@Munisazizi) October 7, 2023
