Afghanistan fall short on World Cup debut

Afghanistan’s first cricket World Cup match ended in defeat when Bangladesh took three wickets in the first three overs on the way to beating the fledgling side by 105 runs.

Afghanistan thrilled thousands of flag-waving expatriates at Manuka Oval earlier in the day by making a promising start to its debut match in the 50-over tournament.

They took four early wickets and then rallied after Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim combined for a 114-run partnership to bowl Bangladesh, which won the toss, out for 267.

But Afghanistan was never in the match in reply, failing to hit its first boundary until the 10th over and requiring an unlikely nine runs per over with 15 overs to go. It was all out for 162 runs in 42.5 overs.

Scorecard:

Bangladesh 267 all out in 50 overs (Rahim 71, Zadran 2-20)

Afghanistan 162 all out in 42.5 overs  (Nabi 44, Mortaza 3-20)