| Scores | Upcoming | Results |
Bangladesh 306 for 4 (Litton 136, Mushfiqur 86, Fareed 2-56) beat Afghanistan 218 (Najibullah 54, Rahmat 52, Shakib 2-29) by 88 runs
Chittagong: Bangladesh secured a big 88-run win against Afghanistan to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead and capture the top spot in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League powered by MRF Tyres.
The win earned them 10 points, catapulting them above England, with a total of 100 points.
As the top seven teams (apart from India as hosts) are set to get direct qualification to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, the victory will be of significance in Bangladesh's pursuit of automatic qualification.
Much like the first ODI, they put up an all-round performance to outplay Afghanistan after opting to bat.
Their decision at the toss was vindicated with a superb batting performance led by Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim. The tall total allowed their bowlers room to experiment, and they eventually snuffed out Afghanistan for 218.
Bangladesh had begun cautiously with the opening pair putting up 38 before Tamim Iqbal (12) was trapped in front by Fazalhaq Farooqi in the seventh over.
Joining Liton Das in the middle, Shakib Al Hasan helped the hosts lay a proper foundation as the duo added 45 runs for the second wicket. Their fledgling partnership was broken in the 16th over with Rashid Khan removing Shakib for 20.
Thereafter, Liton and Mushfiqur took control of the situation, first playing steadily and building on runs and then charging with some superb boundaries. They took Bangladesh's score past 100, and never looked back thereafter, putting the Afghan bowlers under pressure as they both brought up half-centuries.
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi lost a chance to make inroads when he dropped Liton on 87 in the 38th over off Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Three overs later, Liton brought up a fantastic hundred, his fifth in ODIs and first against Afghanistan. He soon upped the ante, hitting Mujeeb for four in the next over, and then smashing a four and six off Farooqi two overs later.
Mushfiqur too continued to plunder runs and also got a reprieve when he survived a stumping chance on 69 in the 42nd over.
The massive 202-run stand was finally broken in the 47th over when Fareed Ahmad first dismissed Liton (136), who picked out the deep mid-wicket fielder by miscuing a pull.
Ahmad then dismissed Mushfiqur on the next ball, having him caught at third man. With a few big heaves, Mahmud Ullah and Afif Hossain boosted the total to 306/4.
Bangladesh asserted their dominance in the game with the ball too. Shoriful Islam gave them the breakthroughs, removing opener Riaz Hassan in the second over and then dismissing Shahidi two overs later to leave Afghanistan reeling at 16/2.
Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai were only able to add 18 more runs before Shakib got Omarzai stumped.
Rahmat and Najibullah Zadran then embarked on a fruitful partnership, expertly negotiating the Bangladesh bowlers. Najibullah survived a couple of close calls but little fazed the duo.
The 89-run stand was eventually broken by Taskin Ahmed as he flicked Rahmat's off-stump for 52. Najibullah, who soon got his fifty as well, could not hold on for long and perished soon after for 54. Shakib then snared Rahmanullah Gurbaz (7) three overs later.
At 151/6, Afghanistan looked in all sorts of trouble, but with plenty of overs in hand and Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan at the crease, Bangladesh still had a lot of work to do. For a while, both Nabi and Rashid looked solid in the middle but the former lost his wicket trying to go big off Mehidy Hasan.
