Asia Cup 2023, 7th Match.
Pakistan VS Bangladesh Played at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Pakistan on 6th September 2023
Pakistan 194/3 in 39.3 Overs (Imam ul Haq 78, Mohammad Rizwan 63*, Fakhar Zaman 20, Shoriful Islam 1/24, Taskin Ahmed 1/32. Mehedy Hasan Miraz 1/51)
Bangladesh 193 All Out In 38.4 Overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 64, Shakib Al Hasan 53, Mohammad Naim 20, Haris Rauf 4/19, Naseem Shah 3/34, Iftikhar Ahmed 1/20, Faheem Ashraf 1/27, Shaheen Shah Afridi 1/42)
Pakistan Won by 7 Wickets With 63 balls to spare
Player of the match: Harris Rauf
An all gun firing Pakistan clinically dispatched pathetic looking Bangladesh by 7 wickets in the first match of the group of four of Asia Cup 2023 at Gaddafi Stadium Yesterday.
The true quality of Bangladesh cricket got exposed against the ICC top ranked Pakistan. The spineless Bangladesh batting got pulverized into pulp with a dramatic middle and late order collapse as 6 wickets were blown away for only 46 runs by fire of Pakistan bowling attack. Bangladesh got bundled out for a well below par 193 on a flat Gaddafi Wicket in 38.4 Overs. Pakistan cruising past the modest target won the match easily scoring 194/3 with 66 balls to spare.
That experience has no alternative was cruelly proved once again as younger players experimented for the tournament ignoring some tried and tested players proved no match with the vastly talented Pakistanis. Bangladesh got another bitter lesson from a team of topflight.
Shakib won the toss and without any hesitation opted to bat. Both Pakistan and Bangladesh had one change from the teams that played their earlier match. Pakistan added Fahim Ashraf medium pacer all-rounder resting Mohammad Newaz. Bangladesh had no option but including Litton K Das in place of injured Nazmul Hossein Shanto back home with torn hamstring. All knew that Bangladesh top order will have torrid and testing time against top quality Pakistani pace battery. The last match centurion make shift opener was removed for zero by Naseem in the very second over. Litton and Naim played some strokes before Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem ripped the top order apart bowling fast and furious. Bangladesh lost 4 wickets by 47 runs within the first power play.
Shakib and Mushfique did the resurrecting act putting together 100 runs for 5th wicket partnership. Shakib after scoring 53 lost his cool and gifted Faheem Ashraf his wicket when his stay at the wicket could assist in producing a competitive score. Mushfique was doing ok. However, the return of Pakistan pace attack of Naseem and Rauf triggered a major collapse. Bangladesh middle and late order batting crashed like a pack of cards. Bangladesh got badly bruised, battered, and humiliated by highly skilled pace attack of Haris Rauf (4/19) and Naseem (3/34).
Not to speak of Afif and Shamim the long tail had no answer to skillful Pakistan attack even on a flat wicket. Even Mushfique playing unnecessary stroke gifted his wicket to Haris Rauf scoring 64. Bangladesh once again failed playing full quota of 50 overs getting all out for 193 in 38.4 overs. The absence of Mahmudullah Riad from the team was again keenly felt.
194 was too easy and too small a target for Bangladesh bowling unit to defend. Yet Shoriful and Taskin tried their best. Fakhar Zaman again failed to deliver scoring only 20. Babar Azam’s prized scalp was taken by Taskin. However, Imam ul Haq scoring 78 and Mohammad Rizwan producing unbeaten 63 made it a cake walk for Pakistan. Overrated Bangladesh had another reality check. They can only improve from here. We are not sure that Bangladesh can fare better against Sri Lanka and India in their two left over games. Pakistan looks like going all the way.
BDST: 0855 HRS, SEP 07, 2023
SMS
