Pakistan beat Bangladesh by five wickets in the first T20 International to take 1-0 lead of three match T20 series here at Gaddafi Stadium on Friday amid stringent security adopted by the law enforcement agencies.
Pakistan achieved the target of 142 in 19.3 overs with the loss of 5 wickets after comeback all-rounder Shoaib Malik hit unbeaten 58 playing 45 balls.
Winning the toss and batting first Bangladesh made 141 for 5 wickets in allotted 20 overs. In reply, Pakistan achieved the target in 19.3 overs with the loss of 5 wickets. Pakistan lost Iftikhar Ahmed and Imad Wasim in the final five overs but Malik stayed till end to get rid his side of long streak of losing T20 international matches.
Shoaib Malik crafted crucial partnerships with debutant Ahsan Ali, who made 36 runs from 32 balls, and Iftikhar Ahmed (16 off 13) which worth 46 and 36, respectively, over the course of his 45-ball innings. Malik smashed five fours in his seventh T20I half-century.
Bangladesh's right-arm pacer Shafiul Islam took two for 27, while Mustafizur Rehman, Al-Amin Hossain and Aminul Islam picked up a wicket each.
For the visitors, openers Mohammad Naim, who hit 43 off 41 and Tamim Iqbal, who made 39 from 34, showed their melt. Naim smashed two sixes and three boundaries while Tamim Iqbal had four boundaries and a six in his knock. Skipper Mahmudullah chipped in with a quick 14-ball 19 which included two boundaries.
Pakistan handed Twenty20 debuts to pacer Haris Rauf and opener Ahsan Ali in a series they must win 3-0 to retain their world number one ranking in the format. The remaining two matches are also in Lahore, on Saturday and Monday.
Pakistan is struggling to retain their top spot in the International Cricket Council's world T20 ranking, which they have held since 2018.
The visitors started their innings confidently, not taking risks but still finding a boundary here and there. Mohammad Naim, the 19-year-old opener, was the more prominent of the two Bangladeshi openers through the first five overs. At this stage, the visitors were 29-0.
Haris, the Lahore Qalandars pacer and debutant, was introduced in the sixth over amid loud cheers. He generated decent pace but was hit for a four on the second ball of his T20I career by Tamim Iqbal. Iqbal copped a nasty one trying to pull Mohammad Hasnain in the 7th over but executed the stroke with perfection the very next ball, and hitting a four as Bangladesh neared the 50-run mark.
At the halfway mark, the visitors were 62-0, hoping to accelerate in the second half of their innings courtesy the wickets in hand. The opening breakthrough finally came in the 11th over when Tamim Iqbal fell short while trying to reach the crease. He contributed 39 off 34 balls.
With boundaries proving hard to come by, the Tigers took more risk than usual and lost Liton Das (12), also to a run-out. Shadab Khan had Naim (43 off 41) caught at long-on the very next ball as Bangladesh were pegged back significantly. With just five overs left, Bangladesh had a mere 100 on board with seven wickets left.
Haris picked up the first wicket of his T20I career in the 18th over, cleaning up Afif Hossain (9). Afridi also got a wicket in similar fashion as Bangladesh, in the end, managed to post 141 runs for the loss of five wickets. Pakistan start was not good because skipper Babar Azam lost on zero. Hafeez played cautiously but out at 17.
Earlier, after the toss, Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah expressed the hope that his team would be able to post a decent total on a pitch where the average score is 130. He said his team was confident, as several players had recently had a successful run at the Bangladesh Premier League.
Commenting on the toss, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said he would have made the same choice had he won. "That was the plan. But now that we are bowling, we will try to bowl them out as soon as we can and chase," he said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh, whose tour was confirmed last week, have a strong batting line-up with the inclusion of Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Naim and Liton Das. Batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, who refused to accompany his team due to his family's concerns, is the only notable absence.
As part of strict security measures for the series, about 10,300 security personnel were posted at different points and roads were been blocked within a two-kilometre radius of the Gaddafi Stadium. Spectators were driven to the stadium in shuttles.
Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has congratulated national cricket team for winning the first T20 match against Bangladesh. He said that Pakistan cricket team has won the hearts of Pakistanis by exhibiting outstanding performance. He said that Pakistani players displayed the best teamwork. Excellent batting of Shoaib Malik played an important role in this victory.
He said that Pakistani players exhibited their best abilities in every field. Spectators enjoyed cricket in a peaceful environment. He expressed the hope that the Pakistani cricket team will exhibit the same performance in the next T20 matches.
Squads
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Iftikhar Ahmad, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Shadab Khan, Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Musa, Usman Qadir and Haris Rauf.
Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Das (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Mithun, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.
====================================
SCOREBOARD
====================================
BANGLADESH
====================================
T. Iqbal run out 39
M. Naim c Iftikhar b Shadab 43
L. Das run out 12
Mahmudullah not out 19
A. Hossain b Rauf 9
S. Sarkar b Shaheen 7
M. Mithun not out 5
------------------------------------
Extras: (lb3, w4) 7
====================================
Total: (for 5 wkts; 20 overs) 141
====================================
Did not bat: Aminul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain Fall of wickets: 1-71 (Iqbal), 2-98 (Das), 3-98 (Naim), 4-119 (Afif), 5-128 (Sarkar)
Bowling: Wasim 3-0-15-0 (1w), Shaheen 4-0-23-1, Hasnain 4-0-36-0, Rauf 4-0-32-1 (1w), Malik 1-0-6-0, Shadab 4-0-26-1
====================================
PAKISTAN
====================================
B. Azam c Das b Shafiul 0
A. Ali c sub (Shanto) b Aminul 36
M. Hafeez c Islam b Rahman 17
S. Malik not out 58
I. Ahmed c Das b Shafiul 16
I. Wasim b Hossain 6
M. Rizwan not out 5
------------------------------------
Extras: (lb1, w3) 4
====================================
Total: (for 5 wkts; 19.3 overs) 142
====================================
Did not bat: Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Azam), 2-35 (Hafeez), 3-81 (Ahsan), 4-117 (Iftikhar), 5-133 (Wasim)
Bowling: Shafiul 4-0-27-2 (2w), Rahman 4-0-40-1 (1w), Hossain 4-0-18-1, Sarkar 2.3-0-22-0, Aminul 4-0-28-1, Afif 1-0-6-0
Result: Pakistan won by five wickets
Toss: Bangladesh
Umpires: Ahsan Raza (PAK) and Shozain Raza (PAK)
Tv umpire: Ahmed Shahab (PAK)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI).
Comments
Comments are closed.