CWC 2023, Match Number 31, Pakistan VS Bangladesh Played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India on 31 October 2023.
Bangladesh 204 All Out in 45.1 Over (Mahmudullah Riad 56, Litton Kumar Das 45, Shakib Al Hasan 43, Mehidy Hasan Miraj 25, Shaheen Shah Afridi 3/23, Mohammad Wasim 3/31, Haris Rauf 2/36)
Pakistan 205/3 in 32.3 Overs (Fakhar Zaman 81, Abdullah Shafique 68, Mohammad Rizwan 26*, Iftikhar Ahmed 17*, Mehidy Hasan Miraj 3/60)
Pakistan Won by 7 Wickets With 81 Balls to Spare
Player of the Match: Fakhar Zaman (81 Runs)
Despite the dismal performance of team Tigers in earlier matches thousands of Tigers fan followers gathered at Iconic Eden Gardens to cheer Bangladesh. But the dreams got dashed at Pakistan crashed the tigers mercilessly winning big by 7 wickets.
Batting first on a little sluggish but otherwise good batting wicket Bangladesh managed a well below par score of 204 all out in 45.1 Overs. Pakistan cruised over the target scoring 205/3 in only 32.3 Overs. Losing 6 of their 7 matches so far Bangladesh remains nineth of the ten teams points table of CWC 2023.
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat. It was business as usual of Bangladesh batting as Bangladesh top order again got dismantled by Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf bowling fast and executing planned attack. Tanzid Tamim was trapped in front in the very first over by Shaheen for nought. Shantos misery in CWC 2023 continued as was caught brilliantly off the bowling of Shaheen for 4. Bangladesh was reduced 2/6 by the 3rd over. Mushfique coming to bat at his favorite position started well driving Haris for an exquisite four. But he too was quicky undone by a brilliant outswinger of Haris. By the 6th over Bangladesh innings looked miserable at 3/26. Litton was looking great, and Mahmudullah promoted rightly at number were looking safe. Both appeared playing comfortable rotating the strikes and striking boundaries at regular interval. The fourth wicket partnership accumulated impressive 73 when Litton lost his cool. He unnecessarily flicked an innocuous looking Iftikhar delivery to Agha Salman. The departure of Litton turned the tide. Shakib joining Mahmudullah started struggling. He could neither play his strokes smoothly nor rotate the strike. Pakistan pacers started reversing the ball at pace and resorted to bowling short. A wonderful Shaheen delivery cleaned up Riad batting superbly at 56. Bangladesh innings lost its way.
Towhid Hridoy included in the team came and went. On the other end out of sorts Shakib tried to up the tempo and with Mehidy Miraj added 45 runs. Another short ball of Haris had Shakib caught after scoring a painstaking 43. Pakistani bowlers found reverse swing. Mohammad Wasim castled the tailenders with his great swinging deliveries as Bangladesh innings crumbled at 204 all out in 45.1 Overs. It was yet another sad episode of Bangladesh poor batting failing to survive their full quota of overs.
Excepting majestic Mahmudullah none could bat with control and confidence. Mahmudullah after scoring 56 was undone by a great Shaheen delivery. Listening to advice of former international players and cricket personalities he was promoted in the batting order. That move put paid. It was also heart breaking witnessing the struggle with the bat by Shakib Al Hasan. His fluency appeared to have gone. Litton had a brain freeze after looking good. Bangladesh learnt another lesson that World Cup is a serious business for not risking raw youngsters against highly skilled international bowlers. BCB has committed suicide leaving vastly experienced Tamim Iqbal back at home. Once again Bangladesh got rattled losing 3/23 in the first power play. The weakness of Bangladeshi batsmen against raw pace and short deliveries was exposed again.
The batting condition was superb. Pakistani openers young talented Abdullah Shafique and flamboyant Fakhar Zaman surviving some early scare of Taskin and Shoriful set up a strong platform of 128 in the first wicket partnership. Mehedy Miraj with his tight off spin managed to remove both the openers and Babar Azam but Bangladesh set target was too small to cause any issue for Pakistan. Fakhar returning to the team after a while looked great for his 74 balls 81 punctuated with 3 fours and 7 sixes. Abdullah Shafique scored yet another half century 68 in 69 deliveries. Mohammad Rizwan (26*) and Iftikhar Ahmed (17*) were at the wicket at Pakistan cruised past the target scoring 205/3. Pakistan with 3 wins in 7 matches elevated their position to 5th position in the points table just below the top four. They have two more games against New Zealand and England. There is an outside chance for Pakistan forcing a last-minute entry with few things going their way along with winning their two matches.
Bangladesh appears to have lost opportunities for staying with the top eight for qualification to the Champions Trophy scheduled to be played in Pakistan in 2025. It is highly unlikely that they can win against Sri Lanka and Australia. CWC 2023 has turned out as the worst of Bangladesh world cup mission. The lack of planning and mistakes at different stages by BCB and the team management led to the present unpalatable situation.
Pakistan appeared to have recovered their form. The bowling and fielding looked superb. Fakhar Zaman back at his brilliant best is good news. The best of Babar Azam is yet to be seen. All are aware of the surprises that Pakistan can create. There are possibilities that Pakistan make a last-minute gate crash into the last four.
BDST: 0726 HRS, NOV 01, 2023
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