Maaz Sadaqat had a day which he will never forget in his lifetime. Playing only his second game, Maaz Sadaqat contributed with both bat and ball to shine through and help his team Pakistan to level the series 1-1 and set up for an interesting decider on Super Sunday. After being asked to bat first, Pakistan rode on a blazing 75 off 46 balls from Maaz Sadaqat and good knocks down the order from Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Rizwan to post 274 on the board where 300 was a possibility at one stage with the Men in Green getting bowled out in 47.3 overs.
In the chase, the game was reduced after the initial phase of 6.3 overs where Bangladesh lost 3 wickets and two of those were taken by Afridi. Thereafter, after the break where a partnership flourished for a while before Maaz Sadaqat turned it around taking 3 wickets while Haris Rauf cleaned up the tail in the end by picking 3 wickets as Bangladesh were exactly 114 all out in 23.3 overs, the exact score Pakistan made a few days ago in the first ODI at the same venue.
Pakistan have levelled the series 1-1 thanks to this massive 128-run win under the DLS method and we are set for the decider on Sunday in Mirpur, Dhaka.
Maaz Sadaqat leads an all-round batting display to help Pakistan post 274 in 47.3 overs.Â
Put into bat first for the second game in a row, Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat opened the batting for Pakistan while Taskin Ahmed had the ball in hand for Bangladesh. Farhan got an initial boundary away but after that it was the Maaz Sadaqat show as the left-hander dominated proceedings in the powerplay. Playing in his only second match, Sadaqat showed the talent he possessed and while Farhan went slowly at the other end, he was like a run away train.
Sadaqat completed his fifty in 31 balls and Pakistan had raced to 85/0 in 10 overs and at this stage, 300+ was definitely on the cards. The duo completed a century run stand in 12.2 overs and put on 103 for the first wicket before the dominant partner Mazaqat fell for 75 off 46 balls with 6 fours and 5 sixes to his name to captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Shamyl Hussain came out to bat next and was a real struggle for him today.
Bangladesh dried up the runs post the dismissal of Sadaqat as Farhan tried to keep the tempo going. The duo of Farhan and Hussain added 18 runs for the second wicket before Farhan fell after getting a start scoring 31 off 46 balls with 2 fours to his name to Taskin Ahmed. Mohammad Rizwan came out to bat next. Just one runs was added to the score before the other debutant Hussain fell for 6 off 22 balls to Nahid Rana.
Salman Ali Agha joined Rizwan in the middle. Pakistan had lost their way a bit but soon came back on track. Salman was the dominant partner in the partnership as he scored at more than run a ball while Rizwan took his time to get in but once in he can change the complexion of the game. The duo took over from those early stutters and put Pakistan in a position of strengths. They were going along nicely and dominated the phase after 25 overs till almost 40 overs. They put on 109 for the 4th wicket.
Then against the run of play, Salman Ali Agha was run out under controversial circumstances for 64 off 62 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes to his name as Miraz went with the laws of the game but not necessarily the sportsmanship spirit of the game. But the batter had to depart. Hussain Talat came out to bat next. Another wicket fell at the same score as Rizwan fell in the same over for 44 off 59 balls with 5 fours to his name to Miraz the captain again. Abdul Samad came out to bat next.
Bangladesh were back in the game and now with a chance of restricting Pakistan to under 300 from here. Samad and Talat forged a useful stand of 21 runs for the fifth wicket before Talat fell for 9 off 13 balls with one boundary to his name to Rishad Hossain. Faheem Ashraf came out to bat next. Soon, 2 runs more were added to the tally before Samad fell for 11 off 7 balls with one six to his name as there was a mix-up between the batters which led to the run out of Samad. Captain Shaheen Afridi came out to bat next.
Faheem and Shaheen added valuable runs of 12 runs for the 8th wicket before the captain fell for 3 off 9 balls dismissed by Rishad Hossain. Mohammad Wasim Jnr came out to bat next. The duo added 6 runs for the 9th wicket before Faheem the last of the recognised batter fell for 14 off 15 balls with 2 fours to his name to Mustafizur Rahman. Haris Rauf came into the attack next.
Just 2 more runs were added to the score before Wasim Jnr was the last man dismissed for 1 off 4 balls to Rishad Hossain yet again as he finished with a 3-wicket haul. Haris Rauf remained unbeaten on 2 off 3 balls as Pakistan were bundled out for 274 in 47.3 overs with 14 extras given by the fielding side.
Bangladesh bowlers have done well to come back in the contest with Rishad Hossain finishing with 3/56 in 9.3 overs. He was ably supported by his captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz who finished with 2/34 in 10 overs, miserly figures for him. Nahid Rana chipped in with 1/59 in 10 overs. Taskin Ahmed finished with 1/59 in 8 overs. Mustafizur Rahman finished with 1/53 in 9 overs. Afif Hossain bowled an over for 8 runs. Bangladesh now needed a mammoth 275 runs to win off 50 overs to clinch the series 2-0 tonight itself.
Maaz Sadaqat shines with ball too as Pakistan outclass Bangladesh to level series 1-1.Â
Chasing 275 for the win initially in 50 overs, Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan came out to open the batting for Bangladesh while Shaheen Afridi had ball in hand for Pakistan. Bangladesh got off to a shaky start in the chase as the opening duo played a few shots and put on 13 for the first wicket before Tanzid was the first to depart for 1 off 7 balls to Shaheen Afridi. Najmul Hossain Shanto came out to bat next. In the next over, with the score still at 13, Saif Hassan fell for 12 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name to Mohammad Wasim Jnr.
Litton Das came out to bat next. Just two more runs were added to the score before Shanto was cleaned up by Afridi for a silver duck to leave the hosts at 15/3 in 4.3 overs. Towhid Hridoy came out to bat next. The duo tried to forge a partnership and added 12 more to the tally to take the score to 27/3 in 6.3 overs when lightning arrived which forced the players to go off the field which was followed by heavy torrential rain. Rain stopped but the delay was more than 2 hours thereby reducing the game.
When play resumed, the game was reduced to 32 overs a side and the revised target for Bangladesh was a stiff 243 in 32 overs. Litton and Hridoy resumed for Bangladesh while Afridi had ball in hand for Pakistan. The duo showed great resistance against the quality Pakistan bowling. Litton looked a class apart while Hridoy gave him good company as Bangladesh tried to show some fight in a game Pakistan was well ahead in the game. Both complimented each other really well in the middle.
The duo added a useful 58 runs for the 4th wicket before Litton fell for an enterprising 41 off 33 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Maaz Sadaqat thanks to a wonderful review by Pakistan as the on-field umpire had given it NOT OUT on the field initially. Afif Hossain came out to bat next. But the game was as good as over once Litton fell as Pakistan sensed a collapse.
Still Afif came and played his shots while Hridoy held one end up now as much as he could. The duo added 22 runs for the 5th wicket before Afif fell for 14 off 15 balls with 2 fours to his name to that man Sadaqat yet again. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz came out to bat next with half the side back in the hut and now the floodgates opened big time. Just one run was added to the score before Miraz fell for 1 off 5 balls to Faheem Ashraf. Rishad Hossain came out to bat next.
Rishad and Hridoy took Bangladesh past the 100-run mark as he added 6 more to the tally with Hridoy before being cleaned up by Sadaqat yet again. Taskin Ahmed came out to bat next. Just 2 runs were added to the tally before the last of the recognised batter Hridoy fell for 28 off 38 balls with 2 fours to his name to Haris Rauf. The game was now sealed and it was a matter of when and not if and by what margin would Pakistan go onto win the game and level the series 1-1.
Mustafizur Rahman joined Taskin in the middle. The duo added another 6 runs to the score before Rahman fell for 4 off 7 balls to Rauf yet again. Nahid Rana the last man came out to bat next. 6 more runs were added for the last wicket before Taskin fell for 5 off 14 balls to Rauf as he cleaned up the tail to finish with 3 wickets as well. Nahid Rana remained unbeaten on 3 off 3 balls as Bangladesh were skittled out for exactly 114 in 23.3 overs; the exact score Pakistan made batting first in ODI 1. Just 3 extras given by the fielding side.
All the Pakistani bowlers bowled well and shone through to level the series. Maaz Sadaqat was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan with figures of 3/23 in 5 overs. Haris Rauf cleaned up the tail and finished with 3/26 in 4.3 overs. Captain Shaheen Afridi started it all with his 2/22 in 5 overs. Mohammad Wasim Jnr finished with 1/25 in 5 overs while Faheem Ashraf finished with 1/18 in 4 overs. So, Pakistan win this contest by 128 runs under the DLS method to level the series 1-1. Maaz Sadaqat was adjudged the Player of the Match for his all-round display.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, Pakistan have come roaring back in the series in rain hit game to level the series 1-1. This means we are set for the decider on Sunday at the same venue in Mirpur, Dhaka and at the same time start at 1:45 PM IST onwards. Which team will win the winners take all match on that day? Only time will tell and have the answers for all of you.
Also Read:Â BAN VS PAK: Pakistan Rattles Bangladesh Before Rain Stops Play.