CANBERRA-
Afghanistan started their maiden World Cup campaign in impressive fashion before Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim combined to push Bangladesh to a respectable 267 all out in their Pool A opener in Canberra.
Looking for a victory to cap their remarkable rise to the top table of international cricket, the Afghans stifled the Bangladeshi batting for much of the innings with some disciplined pace bowling and two bursts of two wickets.
Shakib (63) and Mushfiqur (71), however, plundered 114 runs off 93 balls for the fifth wicket, all-rounder Shakib becoming the first Bangladeshi to score 4,000 runs in one-day internationals in the process.
After both departed, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza tried to put his foot on the accelerator to inflate the total but he could manage only 14 runs before being clean bowled by Aftab Alam, one of four bowlers to take two wickets.
Mortaza had earlier won the toss and elected to bat at Manuka Oval, the expected Afghan nerves evident when Hamid Hassan bowled a wide with the first delivery.
Hamid and fellow paceman Shapoor Zadran probably deserved better than the blank in the wickets column after their opening spells and it was only when all-rounder Mirwais Ashraf came on that the breakthrough was achieved.
Tamim Iqbal (19) was the first batsman to depart when Mirwais flashed a delivery across his bat and wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai took a brilliant one-handed diving catch.
The other opener, Anamul Haque, lasted until Mirwais’s next over before being trapped leg before for 29 as Bangladesh slumped to 52 for two.
Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar then put together a half century partnership for the third wicket in 55 balls before they both fell to returning left-arm paceman Shapoor.
Sarkar was trapped leg before for 28 and might have rued Anamul’s decision to use up the team’s referral on his earlier more obvious dismissal but Mahmudullah (23) could have had no complaints about being caught behind off a thick edge.
Afghanistan suffered a blow when leg-spinner Samiullah Shenwari was forced out of the bowling attack after just seven balls when he received a second warning from the umpire for following through onto the danger area.
