Bangladesh witnessed two batting collapses in their innings that triggered a seven-wicket defeat to Pakistan during their opening Super Four match of the ongoing Asia Cup at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.
The Tigers endured the first collapse during the start of their innings as they were reduced to 47-4 in the 10th over after they decided to bat first in a good batting track in Lahore.
Experienced duo Mushfiqur Rahim (64) and Shakib Al Hasan then shared a 100-run stand for the fifth wicket to bring some momentum back in their innings but losing the last six wickets for just 46 runs saw them getting bowled out for only 193 runs in 38.4 overs.
Bangladeshi pacers had a decent start in defending their total as Shoriful Islam trapped Fakhar Zaman (20) in front in the 10th over while Taskin Ahmed got rid of Babar Azam (17) a few overs later to reduce the hosts to 74-2.
But the total was too small to defend for Bangladesh on a good batting surface as well as against an in-form batting lineup.
Shakib dismissed Imam-ul-Haq after the southpaw hit 78 off 84 balls and it ended his 85-run stand with Mohammad Rizwan for the third wicket.
However, the dismissal couldn’t bring any luck for the Tigers as Rizwan smashed an unbeaten 63 off 79 balls while Salman Agha made 12 not out to power Pakistan to 194-3 in 39.3 overs and complete an easy victory.
Earlier, despite getting Liton Das in place of injured Najmul Hossain Shanto back in the side, Bangladesh opted to open with last match opening pair - centurion Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mohammad Naim - but it backfired immediately.
Mehidy became Naseem Shah’s (3-34) first victim in the game as he was dismissed in the first ball that he faced while Naim was caught and bowled by Haris Rauf (4-19) after making 20 runs.
In the middle of those wickets, Liton, who looked to be in decent touch, lost his wicket to another pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi after making 16 runs. Tawhid Hridoy’s (two) poor run of form in the tournament continued when he was bowled by Rauf just after Naim’s dismissal.
It was then skipper Shakib and wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur who put up their seventh 100-run partnership stand in this format that brought some respite in their innings before the former lost his wicket to pacer Faheem Ashraf while trying to clear the boundary line at deep midwicket.
The dismissal of Shakib triggered another batting collapse in the Bangladesh innings as Shamim Hossain (16), Mushfiqur, Taskin (0), Afif Hossain (12) and Shoriful Islam (one) all departed within a short period and Bangladesh had to finish with a below 200-run total with 11.2 overs still to be played.
Bangladesh will now travel to Sri Lanka to play their remaining two Super Four matches. They will take on the other co-host in their second match in Colombo on Saturday.
BDST: 2301 HRS, SEPTEMBER 6, 2023
MSK
