Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim led from the front with a sparkling ton while young opener Anamul Haque impressed with a half-century as Bangladesh overcame early hiccups to post 279/7 against India in their Asia Cup opener here today.

Mushfiqur, who smashed 117 off 113 balls, was grounded after being hit on his ribs by a nasty beamer by Varun Aaron, but the diminutive captain showed enough resilience to complete his second ODI century, a first for Bangladesh against India since Alok Kapali’s ton in the 2008 Asia Cup.

The 25-year-old started his innings patiently with Animul going freely at the other end, but after the opener’s dismissal, the skipper came into his own, hitting two sixes and seven fours.

The duo was involved in a 133-run third wicket partnership that came after Bangladesh were reduced to 49/2 in the 13th over.

Despite the big partnership though, the lower order failed to fire against a side that boasts of a strong batting line-up.

Mohammad Shami was the pick of Indian bowlers, scalping 4/50 from his quota while it was a flop show for Aaron, who gave away 74 runs before being barred after 7.5 overs for two waist high deliveries, with one of them hitting Mushfiqur.

A less than seven thousand people crowd in a 17,000 capacity stadium in Narayangonj district in the southern suburbs of Dhaka did not exactly give it a home-like feel for Bangladesh, as India opted for a run-chase.

A disciplined Shami, who made the first breakthrough in the form of Shamsur Rahman (7) and Ashwin’s first-ball wicket after a brilliant stumping by Karthik, reduced the hosts to 49/2 in the 13th over and for a moment it seemed like Bangladesh were playing away from home with the stadium not even half-filled.

But the young Anamul turned it around with his array of strokes in a sensible third-wicket partnership with Mushfiqur as the duo got past their individual half centuries.

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