On 7 October 2023, the 3rd match of World Cup 2023 was played between Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Bangladesh played their 1st match of this World Cup at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala with an outstanding victory with 6 wickets over Afghanistan. After winning the toss, they chose to bowl first and send the whole Afghani team back to the pavilion with a total of 156 only and chased this target within 34.4 overs.
PLAYING XI
| Afghanistan | Bangladesh |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w) | Tanzid Hasan |
| Ibrahim Zadran | Litton Das |
| Rahmat Shah | Najmul Hossain Shanto |
| Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) | Mehidy Hasan Miraz |
| Mohammad Nabi | Shakib Al Hasan (c) |
| Najibullah Zadran | Mushfiqur Rahim (w) |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | Towhid Hridoy |
| Rashid Khan | Mahmudullah |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | Taskin Ahmed |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | Shoriful Islam |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | Mustafizur Rahman |
Summary
So, after the first two matches won by New Zealand and Pakistan, the 3rd match was won by Bangladesh against Afghanistan. Bangladesh won this match with 6 wickets as Afghanistan’s entire team was dismissed during the initial innings for a total score of 156 runs. Bangladesh achieved this target in the 35th over without losing 6 wickets.
Afghanistan made a strong beginning before Shakib changed the momentum of Ibrahim Zardan and Rahmat Shah, causing Afghanistan to struggle and slip from 83 for 1 to 156 all out. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was the opener for Team Afghanistan, ran the most runs (47). Bangladesh missed their lines at the time so, Rahmanullah and Ibrahim took full advantage of that and hit the boundary every time from the second to the eighth over. Ibrahim Zadran ran 22 runs while 18 runs were run by Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi. The total also had 22 runs of Azmatullah Omarzai. Rahmat’s wicket made the break on the scoring rate in over 16 to 19. After this wicket, their team just managed to make just 5 runs. Afghanistan started to bat first but collapsed from 83/1 to 156, all out in the first half itself. At the World Cup, it was the 13th successive defeat for Afghanistan.
At the other end, Rahmanullah Gurbaz became the fastest Afghani player to reach 1000 ODI runs.
After giving 157 targets, Afghanistan had a shaky start with the ball, as their players Farooqi and Rahman faced a struggle with their lines. Despite that, Bangladesh lost two wickets at 27 runs. Tanzid Hasan after a mix-up with Litton Das was run out. Two overs later, Farooqi dismissed Litton. This was the time when Afghanistan had a chance to turn things around, but their mistakes cost them. When the total was 38, they dropped Mehidy twice and he scored half half-century. Shanto also played a solid innings, and they were close to 157 when Mehidy got out.
For Bangladesh, the two players took all the wickets of Team Afghanistan. Muhammad Nabi took 6 wickets and Najibullah Zadran took 5 wickets. Rashid Khan scored 9 runs while Mujeeb-ur-Rahman scored just 1 run. Badly, Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazal Farooqi couldn’t contribute any runs to the scoreboard.
Bangladesh’s captain Shakib al Hasan, and Mehidy Hasan each claimed 3 wickets. Shoriful Islam grabbed 2 wickets. Taskin Ahmad and Mustafizur Rahman also took 1 wicket each, securing the win for Bangladesh. Mehidy struck a half-century and made a valuable contribution with 3 wickets. Najmul Hossain remained unbeaten on 59 and Bangladesh won with 15 overs remaining.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Ban) was the player of the match with 57 (73) & 3/25.
Dharamsala’s stunning scenery adds to its charm, but the sand-based outfield made it a bit unpleasant. Fielders had their knees sticking in and there were dust puffs when fast bowlers ran into the top bowl.
SCORECARD OF BOTH TEAMS
Afghanistan Batting
| Batting | R | B | M | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w) | 47 | 62 | 112 | 4 | 1 | 75.80 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 22 | 25 | 41 | 33 | 1 | 88.00 |
| Rahmat Shah | 18 | 25 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 72.00 |
| Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) | 18 | 38 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 47.36 |
| Najibullah Zadran | 5 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 38.46 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 6 | 12 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 22 | 20 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 110.00 |
| Rashid Khan | 9 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 56.25 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 1 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 56.25 |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 8 | w 8 | ||||
| Total | 156 | 37.2 Ov (RR: 4.17) |
Afghanistan Bowling
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | WD | NB |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 5 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 3.80 | 2 | 0 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 7 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 4.28 | 0 | 0 |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | 5.4 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 5.47 | 1 | 1 |
| Rashid Khan | 9 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 5.33 | 0 | 0 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 6 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 3.00 | 1 | 0 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 4.50 | 0 | 0 |
Bangladesh Batting
| Batting | R | B | M | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Tanzid Hasan | 5 | 13 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 38.46 |
| Litton Das | 13 | 18 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 72.22 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | 57 | 73 | 89 | 5 | 0 | 78.08 |
| Najmul Hossain Shanto | 59 | 83 | 112 | 3 | 1 | 71.08 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (c) | 14 | 19 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 73.68 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim (w) | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |
| Extras | 8 | (lb 3, NB 1, W 4) | ||||
| Total | 158/4 | 34.4 Ov (RR: 4.55) |
Bangladesh Bowling
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | WD | NB |
| Taskin Ahmad | 6 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 5.33 | 1 | 0 |
| Shoriful Islam | 6.2 | 1 | 34 | 2 | 5.36 | 2 | 0 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 7 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 4.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 8 | 0 | 30 | 3 | 3.75 | 0 | 0 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | 9 | 3 | 25 | 3 | 2.77 | 1 | 0 |
| Mahmudullah | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 | 0 | 0 |
