"He scores runs whenever he is made to open" - Aakash Chopra on Mehidy Hasan Miraz's century in Bangladesh's Asia Cup 2023 win vs Afghanistan

Aakash Chopra has lauded Mehidy Hasan Miraz for delivering the goods whenever he is made to open by Bangladesh.

Miraz scored 112 runs off 119 deliveries before retiring hurt due to cramps in the Tigers' Asia Cup 2023 Group B clash against Afghanistan in Lahore on Sunday, September 3. Shakib Al Hasan and Co. posted 334/5 on the board and went on to win the game by 89 runs.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra praised Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto for scoring centuries. He elaborated:

"Bangladesh made 334. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored centuries. Miraz was made to open. He scores runs whenever he is made to open. Remember he was made to open in T20Is as well."

The former Indian opener also appreciated Mohammad Naim and Mushfiqur Rahim for playing enterprising knocks. He stated:

"He is a good player. He scored a very good hundred and Shanto also scored a hundred. Mohammad Naim also batted slightly aggressively. Later Mushfiqur Rahim also did that and 334 runs were scored. Everyone got hit a lot."

Shanto scored 104 runs off 105 deliveries and added 194 runs for the third wicket with Miraz before the latter retired hurt. Naim and Rahim played 28 and 25-run cameos respectively, with Shakib Al Hasan smoking an unbeaten 32 off 15 balls.

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"Rahmat Shah played a bad shot to get out" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan's chase

Rahmat Shah was castled by Taskin Ahmed. [P/C: AP]

Reflecting on Afghanistan's chase, Chopra opined that while Rahmanullah Gurbaz was slightly unfortunate to be given out, Rahmat Shah threw away his wicket. He observed:

"In the opposing team's batting, I feel Rahmanullah Gurbaz's decision was 50-50. You shouldn't be given out like that. He was so far down the track but you still gave him out. Rahmat Shah played a bad shot to get out. Ibrahim Zadran was playing well till the time he was there. I am his fan."

While pointing out that Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rashid Khan's fighting knocks were never going to be enough, Chopra praised Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam for dismantling the Afghanistan batting lineup. He said:

"Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi did score 51 runs for sure but then wickets kept on falling. Rashid Khan's 24 runs weren't going to be that useful. Taskin Ahmed picked up four wickets and Shoriful Islam took three wickets and Bangladesh won. It was a must-win game for Bangladesh and they played in a very good fashion."

Chopra concluded by highlighting that Group B is the group of death. While a win for Sri Lanka in the final group game against Afghanistan will seal their and Bangladesh's places in the Super Four stage, a victory for Shahidi and Co. will make it a three-way tie on points, with the two qualifiers getting decided on net run rate.