Great calibre sees Tigers through

The Tigers survived a scare from Afghanistan on their return to ODI cricket after a long break with a nerve-wracking seven-run win at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur last night. Dismissing the last Afghan batsman off the last ball, Taskin Ahmed went for his trademark airplane celebration while captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was punching the air as the victory in the first ODI of the three-match series brought great relief to the Tigers' tent.

Bangladesh snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and Taskin deserves credit for the way the agile pacer bounced back in the death overs after some poor bowling up front, but it was the true professional Shakib Al Hasan who was the real hero in denying Afghanistan another upset like the one in the 2014 Asia Cup match in Fatullah. They could have achieved a much better start in their first ODI of the year had they not dropped a few vital catches or leaked runs in the field after some poor batting at the end of their innings, which saw them lose the last seven wickets for 62 runs. In the end however, the way the Tigers managed to overcome the pressure and win only showed the maturity of a team and the hallmarks of a big side.

Shakib scored 48 off 40 balls and then took two wickets for 26 runs in 10 overs to become player of the match. These were merely the statistics but his true impact on the game was much more impressive. While the other batsmen struggled against the Afghan leg-spin, the left-hander showed his true character and the brilliance of his left-arm spin under pressure in the 47th over virtually took the wind out of the visitors' sails, after they rode on a 144-run third wicket stand between Rahmat Shah and Hasmatullah Shahidi to get so close to the 265-run target.

Afghanistan were well placed, needing 28 to win with five wickets in hand, when Shakib started the 47th over. The left-arm spinner conceded only one run to tip the balance in the home team's favour after earlier providing the much needed breakthrough to the Shah-Shahidi partnership, removing Rahmat Shah (71) to become Bangladesh's leading wicket-taker in all three formats -- the only cricketer in the world to achieve the feat.

Then the hitherto expensive Taskin grabbed the initiative to complete the job in style. Taskin killed any Afghanistan hope by removing Mohammad Nabi and Asghar Stanikzai in the 48th over. His cunning slower off-cutter to dismiss Nabi was particularly brilliant. Rubel Hossain gave away only eight runs in the penultimate over leaving Afghanistan to score 13 runs from the last six balls with two wickets in hand, but Taskin nailed the yorkers and removed the two remaining obstacles to seal Bangladesh's tense win.

Skipper Mashrafe also contributed heavily to the win through his bowling, recording the team's second most economical figures after giving away just 42 in his ten overs. He also claimed two wickets, the more important one being that of opener Mohammad Shahzad, who had, before being caught behind off Mashrafe, plundered a 21-ball 31.

Taskin's success must have been sweet relief for Imrul Kayes, who put down Mohammad Shahzad in the second over to deny Taskin immediate success on his comeback from suspension. Mahmudullah Riyad would have been similarly relieved as he dropped a sitter at deep midwicket to give Shahidi a life when the batsman was on 63.

Earlier, half-centuries from Tamim Iqbal and Riyad should have given Bangladesh a big score but a middle-order collapse left them stranded on 265 and these two batsmen were at fault as their wrong shot selection at the wrong time prevented them from capitalising on good innings to take the team's total over the 300-run mark.

Tamim was brilliant during his 98-ball 80 before committing an error while Riyad executed some brilliant shots in his 74-ball 62. The duo batted with authority after the early departure of Soumya Sarkar, who made his first duck to continue his poor form, and the shaky innings of Kayes, who made 37 runs.

Rashid Khan changed the momentum when he removed Mushfiqur Rahim and Sabbir Rahman with googlies in his last two overs and the late blows slowed down the Bangladesh charge, restricting them to just 69 in the last 10 overs.

Bangladesh trained long and hard before entering the series but they were not up to the mark. Eventually however, their greater experience and calibre came into play as they won the match under pressure.