In the third encounter of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets in a one-sided game at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala.Bangladeshs skipper Shakib al Hasan won the toss and opted to bowl first, which proved to be the correct decision as Afghanistan was bundled out for 156 in 37.2 overs in the World Cup clash in Dharamsala.Leading the side from the front, Bangladesh skipper Shakib scalped three important wickets. Afganistans opening pair of Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz started the innings well adding 47 runs for the first wicket. Skipper Shakib provided the much-needed breakthrough for Bangladesh by sending Ibrahim Zadran to the pavilion.ICC Mens Cricket World Cup 2023Bangladesh 🆚Afghanistan 🏏Bangladesh Won by 6 Wickets 🌟 🫶 🇧🇩Photo Credit: ICC/Getty#BCB | #AFGvBAN| #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/ao5Nu8oEXc— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) October 7, 2023 After the dismissal of Ibrahim, the Bangladeshi spinner never let the Afghanistan batters settle in and struck wickets at regular intervals. Allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz also scalped three wickets, which helped Bangladesh recover after a strong start by Afghanistan.Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi was dismissed for 18 runs off 38 deliveries by Mehidy Hasan Miraz and pacer Mustafizur Rahman got rid of set batter Gurbaz in the next over. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the only batter who looked solid throughout his innings and scored 47 runs off 62 deliveries. Afghanistan lost a couple of more wickets in quick succession, with Shakib dismissing Najibullah Zadran for a mere 5 runs, and pacer Taskin Ahmed cleaning up the allrounder Mohammad Nabi for 6 runs. The tailenders also couldnt do much apart from Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 22 off 20 balls.Mehidy Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto stars in Bangladesh inningsIn response, Bangladesh started the innings slowly, keeping in mind the below-par target. Although, Bangladesh lost both openers cheaply inside the first powerplay. Wicketkeeper batter, Litton Das was cleaned up by Fazalhaq Farooqi for 13 runs, while Tanzid Hasan (5 off 13) was run out by a brilliant fielding effort by Najibullah Zadran.However, Afghanistan then dropped two easy catches to dismiss Mehidy Hasan Miraj. At first, he was dropped by Najibullah at point while batting on 16 and then at the third-man region by spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman when Mehidy was batting on 22.Mehidy made great use of the dropped chances and completed his half-century in 58 balls. A brilliant fielding from Rahmat Shah, who completed a one-handed stunner to get rid of Mehidy, Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed him for 57 runs. Najmul Hossain Shanto was the top scorer of Bangladesh innings. Brief scorecard:Afganistan: 156 (10 wkts, 37.2 Ov) Rahmanullah Gurbaz 47, Ibrahim Zadran 22, Azmatullah Omarzai 22, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 25/3Bangladesh: 158 (4 wkts, 34.4 Ov) Mehidy Hasan Miraz 57, Najmul Hossain Shanto 59, Azmatullah Omarzai 9/1
