WEB DESK
Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Wasim Jr. starred as Pakistan beat Bangladesh in the opening match of the tri-series Friday.
Pacer Wasim Jr. ended up with figures of three for 24 from his four-over spell as Bangladesh ended up scoring 146-8 in reply to Pakistan’s 168-run target.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Sabbir Rahman provided Bangladesh a 25-run start before Wasim spoiled the party.
Haris Rauf, who conceded 38 runs from his spell, surprised Sabbir Rahman with a back-of-length delivery to reduce Bangladesh to 37-2.
Litton Das and Afif Hossain made a great 50-run stand for the third wicket to bring the Bengal tigers back into the game. However, Mohammad Nawaz’s double-wicket over turned the fixture in favour of Pakistan.
First, he removed Das (35) and on the next delivery, he sent Mosaddek Hossain packing for a golden duck.
From there, Pakistan bowlers kept things tight and continued to pick wickets at regular intervals. Bangladesh ended up 21 runs short of the target.
Earlier, Mohammad Rizwan continued to fire on all cylinders as he struck an unbeaten 78 off 50 deliveries, where he smashed seven boundaries and two maximums.
Apart from him, Skipper Babar Azam scored a struggling 22 off 25 balls, while Shan Masood’s 22-ball 31 helped Pakistan reach 167-5 in their allotted 20 overs.
Middle-order struggle
Pakistan was once again let down by their middle order as the trio – Haider Ali (6), Asif Ali (4), and Iftikhar Ahmed (13) – scored 23 runs combined.
They were first exposed in the Asia Cup, where Pakistan ended up as runners-up. Their search for form and the right combination continued in the recently concluded Pakistan-England series.
Pakistan ended up losing the seven-match series 4-3.
Babar Azam’s form with the bat was a bit concerning for the side as well before the all-important T20 World Cup. Though he managed to score his second T20I hundred against England, however, he looked of colour throughout the series and in Asia Cup.
