Bangladesh restrict Afghanistan to 215 after Najibullah's 67

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Najibullah Zadran scored an 84-ball 67 © Getty
Najibullah Zadran made 67 and carried Afghanistan to 215 in the opening ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram. The visitors will be disappointed with the effort especially after opting to bat first and with the middle-order not converting their starts.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz was nipped out by Mustafizur Rahman in the third over before Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah shared a 45-run stand for the second wicket to get the innings going. Shoriful Islam broke the promising stand with the wicket of Ibrahim while Shah followed soon after struggling his way to 34 off 69 and struck them at less than 50.

When Hashmatullah Shahidi fell, Afghanistan were in danger of folding for a paltry total with the scorecard reading 102 for 4. Mohammad Nabi then collaborated with Najibullah to stitch a run-a-ball 63-run stand to prop up the side. The former captain looked fluent during his knock of 20 off 24 but Taskin Ahmed ended his stay in the 39th over.

When Nabi fell, Afghanistan had just crossed 160 and were desperate for a big finish. With Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan to follow, the onus was on them to rally around Najibullah and take the side forward. That's when Shakib, probably, turned the game in Bangladesh's favour. He had Naib lbw and then handed a three-ball duck to Rashid to leave Afghanistan reeling at 194 for 7.

Najibullah fell in the 49th over and ensured the bowlers had a total to fight with but there wasn't much resistance from the lower order and the visitors failed to bat out their 50 overs.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 215 in 49.1 overs (Najibullah Zadran 67; Mustafizur Rahman 3-35) vs Bangladesh.