Afghanistan defeated the Netherlands by 36 runs in the first ODI of the three-match series at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Chasing 223, the Netherlands were bowled out for 186.
Afghanistan lost an early wicket, of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, but Rahmat Shah and Usman Ghani forged a cautious 59-run stand for the second wicket. Philippe Boissevain provided the Dutch with a breakthrough, having Ghani caught by Colin Ackermann.
Rahmat and Hashmatullah Shahidi then added 66 before the former got out on 70. Shahidi hit four fours and two sixes in his 94-ball 73, but the rest of the batters could not do much. For the Netherlands, Brandon Glover took three wickets, and Fred Klaassen took two.
In response, Scott Edwards and Musa Ahmed batted almost eight overs before the latter fell to Yamin Ahmadzai for 11. Ackermann (10) and Bas de Leede (9) too got out cheaply.
Negating Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman was always going to be a challenge for the Dutch, who ended up losing five wickets to them. Edwards' resistance came to an after being bowled by Mujeeb for 68. Pieter Seelaar tried to stage a comeback, but he got out on 32.
Boris Gorlee, Klaassen, and Vivian Kingma got run out as the Netherlands were bowled out for 186. Rashid (3-31) was the pick of the bowlers.
Afghanistan 222/8 in 50 overs (Hashmatullah Shahidi 73; Brandon Glover 3-43) beat Netherlands 186 in 48 overs (Scott Edwards 68; Rashid Khan 3-31) by 36 runs. Player of the Match: Hashmatullah Shahidi.