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Bangladesh have opened their World Cup campaign in style with a dominant six-wicket win against Afghanistan in Dharamsala.
The Tigers cruised to their target of 157 with 15 overs to spare on the back of half-centuries by Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto on Saturday, reports bdnews24.com.
Miraz, who was dropped twice by the Afghan fielders, continued his rich vein of form in the top order with a well-compiled 57 to cap an excellent all-round showing.
It was third time lucky for the Afghans after Rahmat Shah pulled off a spectular one-handed catch at mid-off to dismiss Miraz off the bowling of Naveen-ul-Haq.
But his partnership of 97 for the fourth wicket with Shanto set the platform for Bangladesh to maintain their perfect record against Afghanistan in ODI World Cups.
A cool-headed Shanto went on to steer his team across the finish line with an unbeaten knock of 59.
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field before the spin duo of Shakib and Miraz orchestrated a spectular Afghan batting collapse, bundling them out for a paltry 156.
Afghanistan's innings began steadily as they reached 83 for the loss of just one wicket from 15 overs.
However, their fortunes took a sharp downturn after the drinks break, as they struggled to rotate the strike against the spinners on what appeared to be a slow pitch. The Bangladeshi bowlers dismantled the Afghan batting line-up, picking up 9 wickets for just 73 runs in the next 22 overs.
Shakib and Mehidy maintained tight lines and lengths, making it difficult for the Afghan batsmen to find gaps and rotate the strike.
As the innings progressed, the Bangladeshi seam bowlers, led by Shoriful Islam, also made significant inroads into the Afghan batting lineup. The collapse was sealed when Naveen, in a desperate attempt to salvage some runs, pulled a delivery straight to deep midwicket off Shoriful's bowling.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the top scorer for Afghanistan with a well-compiled 47, but the other batters couldn't offer much support.