Ashraful shows his class

Mohammad Ashraful scored a century © Getty Images

Mohammad Ashraful’s superb century guided Bangladesh to a 96-run victory over the United Arab Emirates in the opening Group A match at the Asia Cup on Tuesday.

Ashraful top-scored with 109, while Raqibul Hasan’s quickfire 83 ensured Bangladesh reached a commanding total of 301 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

UAE’s Khurram Khan hit 78 off 81 balls and opener Arshad Ali notched 41 but it proved insufficient as they were bowled out inside 46 overs.

The task of reaching more than 300 runs was always going to be tough for an inexperienced UAE team, and their endeavours were not helped by the loss of early wickets.

Amjad Javed skied Mashrafe Mortaza to mid-off in the third over for 10 and Batuwitarachchi followed in the next for a duck when he was trapped lbw by Shahadat Hossain.

Amjad Ali (19) steadied the ship but then edged behind to give Abdur Razzak his 100th ODI wicket, and Saqib Ali added just 10 before being caught attempting to cut Mohammad Mahmudullah.

Khan and Arshad Ali provided some much-needed momentum before the latter was caught at midwicket, but no other UAE player was able to stick around to support Khan, with V Shetty (seven), Mohammad Tauqir (17), EHSN Silva (seven) all falling cheaply.

When Khan was caught at long-on off Razzak, victory was a mere formality for Bangladesh and they wrapped it up with Alok Kapali bowling Fahad Alhashmi in the 46th over.

Earlier, opener Tamim Iqbal set the tone for Bangladesh with a steady 40 before he was run out, while Mohammad Nazimuddin’s disappointing two from eight deliveries was quickly forgotten as skipper Ashraful piled on the runs.

Nazimuddin’s dismissal left Bangladesh on 107 for two but Ashraful and Raqibul - who hit 10 boundaries from just 63 deliveries - combined for a 141-run third wicket stand to take the score close to 250 before the latter became Zahid Shah’s second victim of the day.

Kapali (one), Mortaza (three) and Mahmudullah (eight) failed to spark for Bangladesh after Ashraful was dismissed attempting a quick single having completed his second one-day international half-century in 114 balls.

Bangladesh’s middle-order collapse briefly threatened to derail their bid to reach 300, but the efforts of Mushfiqur Rahim (16) and Dolar Mahmud (20) ensured they reached that milestone in the final over.

Shah was the pick of the UAE attack, finishing with figures of 3-49 from 10 overs.