Right then, that brings us to the mid-innings break rather earlier than we anticipated. Shakib Al Hasan is proving how much experience counts in showpiece events. He has led them superbly into action with the ball. The veteran all-rounder has this knack for churning out wickets and stems the run-flow effectively in the middle overs. Afghanistan got a solid start but then came the stutter thanks to the brilliance of Shakib and Mehidy in particular. Seamers also chipped in later with a few wickets and it was a well-knit bowling performance. Can Afghanistan cause some panic with quick wickets in the powerplay and defend this subpar score? Join us in a bit to find out
Mehidy Hasan Miraz: 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
ashish: "Yet to get a proper tussle match this WC. It's only the third match but has been mostly one sided even with good teams competing."
Dr taj: "Ah ! Afghanistan usually starts so well and then ka boom !! Not taking anything away from BD team but this is just poor display from afghanistan and the worrying point is its happening on regular basis in tournaments.. "
Charles: "Afghanistan have collapsed but bd needs 157 the match is still not over yet" certainly, not over until it's over
RohanRaj: "Piece of cake for Bangladesh, or Rashid and co could give them a hard time?"
Sandeep: "I had high hopes after watching the first wicket partnership. Sad it ended this way"
Siddiq : "Not every morning shows the day. After 10 overs of AFG innings even the most optimistic BD fan hardly thought that they will get a 157 runs target. BD batters may go for attack from the 1st ball to earn a good NRR."
Asif Inzamam : "Khalid and Dhaval who jinxed Zadran and Nabi (out immediately after their comments about them) stay away from commenting from BD batters. We need this match to win "
Eidi.: "You think a lot T20s' has actually muddled the ODI mindset for some players/teams - especially those not playing regular Tests??It seems they have just become so impatient with a few dot balls that they loose the bigger picture - of >100s of balls to follow? That is a valid point as we saw some batters not rotating the strike much and couldn't hold that urge to go for the aerial route after every couple of dots
Maiwand AWTC: "very bad start for afghanistan "
Mustafa Moudi : "New Zealand looks just average in Bilateral series but does exceedingly well in Major Tournaments and Afghanistan is exactly opposite- They does well in Bilateral series (They qualified for the WC with higher positions than India, Pakistan and SA in the WCSL) but performs very poorly in the Major Tournaments !!"
Shiva Basyal: "From 83-2 to 156 All-out, what a collapse in world biggest cricket event."
Naveen-ul-Haq c Towhid Hridoy b Shoriful Islam 0 (8m 6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Nads: "Hats off to Alan Donald. What a reformation in BD bawling attack made by this amazing gentleman!"
DaWolf: "Lack of singles is what's really cost Afghanistan. It's added scoreboard pressure, then they've tried to break the shackles and lost wickets with expansive shots. Special credit to Miraz who has fielded well."
END OF OVER:37 | (wicket maiden) | AFG: 156/9 | RR: 4.21
- Fazalhaq Farooqi0 (3b)
- Naveen-ul-Haq0 (4b)
- Mehidy Hasan Miraz9-3-25-3
- Shoriful Islam6-1-34-1