Bangladesh has defeated Afghanistan by four wickets in the first of three one-day internationals in Chattogram.
Afif Hossain and Mehidy Hasan guided Bangladesh to get the stunning victory as the two added 174 in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand. Najibullah Zadran was the brightest spot in the Afghanistan batting effort, as he held the innings together with an 84-ball 67, according to espncricinfo.com.
Earlier, Bangladesh bowled out Afghanistan for a paltry total of 215.
According to bdnews24.com, Nazibullah Zadran topscored for the Afghans with 67 from 84 balls while Mustafizur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers for the Tigers, finishing with three wickets for 35 runs.
With the visitors electing to bat first on Wednesday, left-arm seamer Mustafizur provided an early breakthrough as opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (7) holed out to mid-on after miscuing an inswinger in the third over.
Both openers should have been back in the pavilion within the first six overs but for some sloppy fielding by the Tigers.
After Afif Ahmed only managed to get his fingertips on a difficult chance at point, Mahmudullah dropped a sitter at deep square leg after pacer Taskin Ahmed enticed Ibrahim Zadran into a pull-shot off a short delivery.
Despite the missed chances, the Bangladesh bowlers managed to keep the visitors' run rate in check in the first 10 overs, restricting them to just 41 runs.
Zadran looked to make the most of his lifeline as he stitched together a 45-run partnership for the first wicket with Rahmat Shah. But the opener fell to Shoriful Islam in the 14th over as he nicked a full-length delivery to debutant Yasir Ali at slip after scoring 23 off 19.
The Tigers then applied the squeeze on the Afghan batsmen as they went 17 balls without scoring, thanks largely to an economical spell by off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
The pressure eventually paid off as Taskin, who returned for his second spell, finally had a wicket to show for his disciplined line and length with the ball when Rahmat (34 off 69) tried to lash out at a rising delivery, only to edge it into the gloves of wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim.
With two-left handers at the crease, captain Tamim brought off-spinner Mahmudullah into the attack and his introduction paid immediate dividends as Shahidi attempted to cut a delivery close to his body but ended up nicking it to Mushfiqur behind the stumps.
Nazibullah and Nabi then steadied the ship for the visitors with a half century partnership to take the score past 150. But the Afghans soon lost their fifth wicket as Taskin struck again in the 39th over. After dispatching the first delivery of the over for four through the covers, Nabi (20 off 24) was again lured into a drive in the third ball, only to be caught behind by Mushfiqur this time.
Tigers talisman Shakib then made his mark with the wickets of Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan in the space of three balls in the 45th over to leave Afghanistan reeling at 194/7.
But Nazibullah's dogged resistance helped Afghanistan past the 200-run to give his side a fighting chance in the contest. But the visitors would eventually fold for 215 as Mustafizur and Shoriful mopped up the tail.
Shoriful, Taskin and Shakib each picked up two wickets despite the latter two being on the expensive side with the ball.
Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and elected to bat first on a wicket his opposite number Tamim Iqbal expecting to play well throughout the day.
The Tigers made four changes to the side that played their last game in the 50-over format back in July, with Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Yasir returning to the line-up.
