ICC World Cup 2019: Match 31, Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Review – Shakib cranks up the heat yet again as the Tigers brush away Afghans

Not many would’ve given them a chance before the tournament started, but Bangladesh are beginning to make a very strong case for themselves in the ICC World Cup 2019 by registering their third win in the tournament. They now have seven points in six games and if they can win all of their remaining games, they could be on their way to Manchester or Birmingham for the semi-finals.

After a stellar bowling performance against India, Afghanistan had only one decision in mind after winning the toss, to bowl first. Liton Das was dismissed early in the innings, but Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan set a great tone for the middle order to come in with their 59-run partnership. It ended with Nabi rattling Tamim’s stumps.

Shakib continued his brilliant form with the bat and scored another fifty. He added 61 runs for the third wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim before being rapped on the pads by Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the umpire had no hesitation in raising his finger. He soon removed Soumya Sarkar as well, pushing Bangladesh into a trouble zone.

Mushfiqur Rahim stepped up at this crucial juncture and tackled the spin stranglehold brilliantly. Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur batted really well to see out the dangerous phase where spinners were on top. Mushfiqur began to up the ante following his fifty and after Mahmudullah’s dismissal, Mosaddek Hossain’s fireworks killed all the hard work from the Afghan spinners.

The duo collected some quick runs towards the end, which garnered important momentum for the Tigers stepping into the second innings. Mushfiqur’s valiant effort of 83 in 87 deliveries was well appreciated by the fans. Mujeeb Ur Rahman registered impressive figures of 3/39 while skipper Gulbadin Naib picked up a brace.

Its Shakib Mania everywhere!

What an absolute legend he is for the Bangladeshi unit. Cometh the hour, cometh the man they say and Shakib really churned out an outstanding bowling performance to back his half-century. Rahmat Shah and Gulbadin Naib started off on a promising note, with Mustafizur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza and Saifuddin proving to be ineffective.

Once the skipper turned to Shakib for help, the number one all-rounder obliged and picked up the first wicket. Hashmatullah Shahidi and Gulbadin Naib tried to bat their way out, but the Tigers were on top. Mosaddek Hossain reciprocated with a wicket and dismissed Shahidi to give their second breakthrough.

After another dry spell, Mashrafe once again gave the ball to Shakib to break the deadlock and once again, no prizes for guessing, he did the job. Shakib dismissed Naib and Mohammad Nabi in the same over and turned the game on its head. The middle order got completely blown away during his spell as they barely could collect singles while he was operating.

Samiullah Shinwari and Najibullah Zadran tried to catch up with the required run rate to an extent, but their efforts went in vain. Shinwari remained one run short of his fifty as Afghanistan got bowled out for 200 runs in their run chase, gifting a priceless 62-run win for the quarterfinalists from the previous edition.

Brief Scores

Bangladesh: 262/7 in 50 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 83, Shakib Al Hasan 51; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3/39)

Afghanistan: 200 all out in 47 overs (Samiullah Shinwari 49*; Shakib Al Hasan 5/29)

Result: Bangladesh won by 62 runs

Man of the match: Shakib Al Hasan