Bangladesh’s batting woes continue as Afghanistan clinch a big win

Formats may change, and so may the players, along with the intensity of the competition. But one thing remains constant for Bangladesh: their batting struggles. Whether it's Test cricket, T20, or their favourite format, ODIs, Bangladesh continues to display disappointing batting performances. The trend persisted against Afghanistan, with Najmul Hossain Shanto's team succumbing to the same batting frustrations. And the result followed suit — another dismal showing led to a significant defeat to Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Dubai, Bangladesh lost the first ODI of the three-match series by 92 runs. In terms of run margin, this marks Bangladesh's third-biggest defeat against Afghanistan in ODIs. Out of 17 ODIs, Bangladesh have now suffered seven losses to Afghanistan. Amidst a day of extreme batting woes, Bangladesh collapsed with 15.3 overs to spare, losing their last seven wickets for just 23 runs.

The catalyst behind Bangladesh's downfall was Afghanistan's young bowler Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, whose spectacular bowling dismantled their batting line-up. The 18-year-old right-arm spinner, playing just his sixth ODI, single-handedly toppled Bangladesh's batting order, claiming six wickets. He ended with career-best figures of 6 for 26 in 6.3 overs.

The Afghan team, batting first, faced pressure from Bangladesh's pace attack. Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, and Shoriful Islam displayed dominance, with Afghanistan particularly struggling against Mustafiz and Taskin. Both bowlers took four wickets each, with Shoriful claiming one more, while the remaining wicket was a run-out. Together, these three pacers took nine of Afghanistan's wickets.

Bangladesh's playing eleven included two specialist spinners: Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Rishad Hossain. Occasional off-spinner Mahmudullah Riyad also bowled. However, none of Bangladesh's three spinners managed to take a wicket. But as Bangladesh began batting, the pitch seemed to change character. Afghanistan's spinners wreaked havoc on Bangladesh, who struggled against their venom. Ghazanfar claimed six wickets, while star leg-spinner Rashid Khan took two, and Mohammad Nabi one.

The Afghan spinners took nine wickets, with only one wicket going to a pacer, Azmatullah Omarzai. This stark contrast in abilities was evident between the two teams. There was also a noticeable difference in batting. Despite losing five wickets for 71 runs, Afghanistan managed to post a total of 235 runs. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Nabi built a 104-run partnership, taking their team a long way, with Shahidi reaching a half-century.

In contrast, Bangladesh's innings unfolded quite differently. They lost their first wicket with just 12 runs on the board, but captain Shanto and Soumya Sarkar put on a 53-run partnership for the second wicket. Bangladesh put up a solid fight in the third wicket stand, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz partnering Shanto in a 55-run partnership. However, once Player of the Match Ghazanfar struck, wickets began to tumble, and Bangladesh's innings quickly folded. They were all out for 143 in 34.3 overs.

Bangladesh's batting struggles have haunted them throughout their India tour. They were whitewashed in the two-match Test series and saw no change in fortunes in the T20 series, where India dominated with big scores and comprehensive victories. Shanto's side faced the bitter taste of a whitewash in the three-match T20 series as well. Now, in their favourite ODI format, Bangladesh had to accept a heavy defeat with a helpless surrender.