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'Tigers are here to stay' -Fans react as Bangladesh rout Afghanistan by 89 runs in Asia Cup 2023

Bangladesh showed who were the bosses as they racked up 334-5 against the Afghanistan bowlers with two batters scoring hundreds.

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Daniel S
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Bangladesh

Bangladesh (Source: Twitter)

Bangladesh and Afghanistan faced off against each other in Lahore. The Bangla Tigers won the toss and chose to bat. It was a must-win game for them after their 5-wicket loss to Sri Lanka they got off to a wonderful start as Mohammad Naim hit a quickfire 28 off 32 balls with five fours. He was castled by Mujeeb Ur Rahaman.

Towhid Hirdoy the new sensation fell for a two-ball duck as he was caught by Ibrahim Zadaran off Gulbadin Naib at 63-2, the game still hung in the balance. But the young guns of Bangladesh stepped up and took the Afghan bowlers to the cleaners.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck gold as he made a well-orchestrated 112 off 119 balls with seven fours and three sixes. It was a wonderful innings from the former Bangladesh U19 skipper. He received great support from Najmul Hossain Shanto. The left-hander continued his good form after he struck 89 in the last game against Sri Lanka. The 25-year-old went a step further and, made a cracking 104 off 105 balls with nine fours and two sixes. The Afghan bowlers did not know what hit them.

Shoriful Islam picked up 3-36 in his nine overs for Bangladesh

Down the order for Bangladesh, there were quick cameos from Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, which gave them the perfect finish to the innings.  Rahim hit 25 off 15 balls with one four and one six. Captain Shakib struck a wonderful 32 off 18 balls with four fours and one six. This allowed the Bangla Tigers to get to 334-5 in their 50 overs. Bangladesh scored their runs at a great clip as they had a run rate of 6.68  in their innings.

For Afghanistan, there was nothing much to write about the bowling as Mujeeb and Gulbadin picked up a wicket in their respective bowling spells. It was a great reply from Bangladesh after they lost to the Islanders in their first game.  The Bangladesh coach said that he lamented over the absence of key players. But the youngsters from the Bangla Tigers have stepped in and filled the void superbly.

In the second innings, Afghanistan did not have the best of starts as they lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz early. Rahmat Shah made 22 off 37 balls with five fours. Ibrahim Zadran showed his class by smashing a quickfire 75 off 74 balls with 10 fours and one six. The target was still for Afghanistan as they kept losing wickets regularly. SkipperHashmatullah Shahidi made 51 off 60 balls with six fours but it was in vain. In the end, Bangladesh won comprehensively by 89 runs.

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