Clinical Pakistan keep World Cup hopes alive; Bangladesh knocked out
A complete all-round performance from Pakistan enabled them to register a crushing seven wicket win against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday (October 23). The game was set up by Pakistan’s pace trio who shared eight wickets between them to skittle Bangladesh out for 204. Comeback-man Fakhar Zaman then blazed his way to a 74-ball 81 and his rapid century stand with Abdullah Shafique (68 off 69 balls) allowed Pakistan to get a huge net-run -rate boost. Meanwhile, the defeat has officially knocked Bangladesh out of the tournament. With a not-so-threatening target to chase, it was Pakistan’s game to lose, given that the pitch had started to ease out under lights. The ball was coming onto the bat nicely and with Eden’s quick outfield, Zaman couldn’t have asked for better conditions on his return. Two imperious cross-batted sixes against Taskin Ahmed signalled his intentions and he was on a six-hitting spree even after the first Powerplay was over. His partner Shafique was relatively subdued but dished out his own set of classy strokes as the opening pair made short work of Bangladesh’s bowling unit. Runs started to come at breakneck speed especially after the first ten overs and it was evident that Pakistan would want to finish the game quickly. Zaman and Shafique played to the plan perfectly as the platform was set for a brisk finish. Both of them along with skipper Babar Azam perished in a bid to hasten the finish, gifting Mehidy Hasan three scalps in the process but the result was never in doubt. Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed gave the final touches to the game as Pakistan prevailed with 105 balls to spare. It was a ruthless run chase from Babar’s men although the job was virtually done at the halfway mark by their bowlers. Opting to bat, Bangladesh produced another underwhelming performance with the bat. Shaheen Afridi dented them early with the twin strikes of Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto to set the tone for Pakistan. Haris Rauf then joined in with the big breakthrough of Mushfiqur Rahim to have Bangladesh tottering at 23/3. A crisp 79-run stand between Litton Das and Mahmudullah promised to put Bangladesh on course towards a strong score but once that partnership was broken, the innings went into a shell. Mahmudullah looked in good touch, as did Litton but Bangladesh needed one of them to bat very deep into the innings. After their dismissals, the innings stagnated and while Shakib Al Hasan did get a start, his stay at the crease was very scratchy. Pakistan’s pacers were relentless as they hit the right lengths to trouble Bangladesh’s batters. Apart from Afridi and Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr also sent in a searing set of spells with his reverse-swinging final set being the highlight. There was no respite for Bangladesh who only got past 200 thanks to Mehidy’s cameo towards the end. The score was never going to trouble Pakistan who polished off the chase with ease. Brief scores:
Bangladesh 204 in 45.1 overs (Mahmudullah 56, Litton Das 45; Shaheen Afridi 3-23, Mohammad Wasim Jr 3-31) lost to Pakistan 205/3 in 32.3 overs (Fakhar Zaman 81, Abdullah Shafique 68; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3-60) by seven wickets
