BAN 193 (38.4)

PAK 194/3 (39.3)

Pakistan won by 7 wkts


The hosts easily win the Asia Cup's last match in Pakistan. Their speed trio set up a victory, while Imam at Rizwan supplied the finishing touches with his bat. Bangladesh struggled to control the ball with only 194 to defend. The surface provided them with almost nothing, but they persisted in bowling tight lengths and their pacers didn't give up. The lean phase of Fakhar Zaman persisted, and Babar received a delivery that stayed low. Imam has now been at this arena twice in the fifties and twice in the hundreds, having survived a few near LBW shouts. With more than 10 overs remaining, Pakistan scored a straightforward victory thanks in large part to Rizwan, who finished unbeaten on 63.

 

Imam was specifically held down by the Bangladesh pacers as the Pakistan openers in the chase got off to a careful start. On the opposite side of a stoppage caused by a broken floodlight, Fakhar Zaman, who started off by hitting two fours off Taskin Ahmed in the first over, also managed to hit one off Shoriful Islam. With three fours in an over off Taskin, Imam, who was on 3 off 14, finally got going. At the other end, Shoriful was prudent with his disciplined lines and ultimately bowled Zaman. He was stranded in front for 20 and was dismissed without a fifty for the eighth time in a row. This dismissal also cost Pakistan a review.

 

The first 10 overs saw just 37 runs, as the bowlers from Bangladesh kept Pakistan in check despite losing a review for a leg-before claim against Imam in Hasan Mahmud's over. They lost another soon after when Taskin struck Imam in the pads. Both reviews were overturned because the ball was pitched outside leg. Shoriful's first stint came to a close with only 18 runs off six overs, and he also had the unfortunate luck for a boundary when an edge from Babar's bat went beyond backward point. Imam hit consecutive balls for four and six in Mahmud's over, giving the innings some traction. But shortly after a Taskin delivery, Babar was bowled for 17 and died.

 

After playing a pick-up shot off Mahmud for a six and a draw for a four in the same over, Mohammad Rizwan immediately got going. Imam then used a review to overturn a leg-before decision in Mehidy Hasan's opening over, and a few overs later, he reached fifty with a six off the spinner. Rizwan was actively rotating the strike, punctuated by boundaries, including one off Shakib, who entered the game to bowl just halfway through. Imam also blasted the skipper of Bangladesh for a six over long-off, and Rizwan swept Mehidy for his fourth boundary as the third wicket partnership passed 50.

 

As Pakistan reached 150, Imam scored his fourth six with a pull shot off Mehidy, which was followed by another pull for a four. He attempted a slog sweep but went for one shot too many and was bowled. Before Agha Salman scored the game-winning four, Rizwan quickly gathered boundaries to reach his 11th ODI fifty.

 

Pakistan's deadly pace attack caused Bangladesh, who choose to bat, to be bowled out for 193 runs.

 

Shakib Al Hasan (53) and Mushfiqur Rahim (64) put up a century partnership for the fifth wicket in an effort to calm the ship after the top order collapsed early in the game. However, Bangladesh saw a second collapse as they were skittled out early after losing their final six wickets for 46 runs. In order to hasten the conclusion of Bangladesh's innings, Naseem Shah picked up 3-34 while Haris Rauf finished with 4 for 19.

 

Mehidy Hasan was out for a golden duck after chipping a catch to midwicket as Shaheen Afridi began with a maiden and Naseem struck off his first delivery. After recovering from an illness, Litton Das rejoined the squad and capitalized on both pacers' full deliveries by hitting a flurry of drives through the off side for fours. In an effort to make up for the early removal with some solid batting, the second-wicket duo also included Mohammad Naim, who hit a couple boundaries.

 

Bangladesh lost their second wicket inside five overs, however, as soon as Shaheen made the decision to bowl short of a length and got Litton to edge to the keeper. When Naseem hurt himself while attempting to stop a four, Pakistan suffered a setback. For his fourth boundary, Naim nicked a heavier delivery from Shaheen. However, Pakistan kept winning matches as Rauf claimed his 50th ODI wicket when Naim pulled the ball late and got a top edge. Towhid Hridoy was also dismissed by the pacer for 2, leaving Bangladesh in trouble at 47/4.

 

Shakib and Rahim, a skilled duo, began the process of rebuilding for Bangladesh. While Rahim was mostly content rotating the stroke, Shakib was the most aggressive of the two, occasionally eking out limits. Shakib and Rahim were able to calm down thanks to some overs from Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf, who weren't as dangerous as the other bowlers. The two were not shaken by the return of Rauf and Naseem, who was back on the field, as Shakib smashed short deliveries for boundaries to aid Bangladesh in making solid headway. But the partnership came to an abrupt halt as Shakib's attempt to pull Faheem past the fence resulted in a catch to deep midwicket.

 

In the meanwhile, Rahim passed fifty and gained assistance from Shamim Hossain as they attempted to restore stability to the innings. Shamim hit a six off Shaheen before failing to time a slog off part-time off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmed and falling shortly after. Iftikhar's bowler, Afif Hossain, blasted a six over midwicket, but Rauf caught Rahim behind the stumps to conclude Rahim's innings. Afif pulled out and tried to pull when Naseem got a massive one on him. The 39th over saw the end of Bangladesh's innings, as Naseem also dismissed Shoriful Islam.

 

Brief scores: Bangladesh 193 in 38.4 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 64, Shakib Al Hasan 53; Haris Rauf 4-19, Naseem Shah 3-34) lost to Pakistan 194/3 in 39.3 overs (Iman-ul-Haq 78, Mohammad Rizwan 63*; Shoriful Islam 1-24) by 7 wickets