Tamim, Liton, Shanto gone before rain stops play

Bangladesh lost their entire top-order before rain stopped play in their first One-Day International (ODI) against Afghanistan at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Wednesday.

Bangladesh were at a spot of bother at 84-3 after 15.1 overs when the umpires called for the covers.

Shakib Al Hasan and Towhid Hridoy were trying to rebuild the innings after Liton Das and Shanto departed in consecutive overs before rain stopped play. Shakib and Hridoy are not out on four and eight respectively.

Earlier, Bangladesh lost the toss and were sent to bat first.

The hosts got off to a sedate start, reaching 48-1 after 10 overs.

They lost the wicket of captain Tamim Iqbal in the first powerplay, who chased a wayward ball on the off side from Fazalhaq Farooqi and paid the price, nicking it straight to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz to depart for 13 off 22 balls.

The innings from Tamim was an anticlimactic one, considering the drama that preceded Tamim’s participation in the first ODI.

A day before the match, Tamim said he is not fully fit but will feature in the first ODI to better assess his fitness, a statement that the team management didn’t appreciate.

But the captain’s ‘fitness test’ ended up being a brief one as his innings ended in the seventh over.

After Tamim’s departure, Najmul Hossain Shanto joined Liton Das. The duo added 35 runs off 27 balls before Liton threw away his wicket. He attempted a sweep off Mujeeb Ur Rahman, which went straight into the hands of Rahmat Shah.

After Liton departed for 36 off 35 balls, Shanto (12 off 16 balls) followed him to the dressing room in the very next over, top-edging a sweep shot against Mohammad Nabi, which was gleefully caught by Mohammad Saleem.

Shakib and Towhid then added 12 runs off the next three overs before rain stopped the proceedings.