Nahid Rana might have come into the attack late but he made an immediate impact as he ran through the Pakistan top order which helped Bangladesh draw first blood in the series. Nahid Rana was a man determined to prove a point and he did so with his sparkling 5-wicket haul. His 5/24 alongside excellent support from captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz who picked up 3 wickets as Pakistan were bundled out for 114 in 30.4 overs.
In reply, Tanzid Hasan scored a sparkling unbeaten half-century and others played around him to complete the formalities as Bangladesh romped home against average Pakistan bowling which looked flat as it can be with the target achieved in 15.1 overs as Bangladesh thrashed their brothers from the other mother.
Nahid Rana’s Impressive 5-Wicket Haul Skittles Pakistan for 114 in 30.4 oversÂ
Put into bat first, debutants Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat came out to open for Pakistan while Taskin Ahmed had ball in hand for Bangladesh. The duo gave Pakistan a steady start as they played to the merit of the ball while Bangladesh kept things under check. Pakistan did decently well in the first powerplay scoring 41 runs and the duo put on 41 for the first wicket. But at the stroke of the end of powerplay, Pakistan lost their first one as Farhan fell for 27 off 38 balls with 4 fours to his name as Nahid Rana struck in his first over.
Another debutant Shamyl Hussain came out to replace Farhan in the middle and it is from the 11th over onwards things started to go downhill for Pakistan as Rana ripped them apart. The duo of Sadaqat and Hussain added 6 more to the tally before Hussain fell for 4 off 7 balls to Rana to the short ball barrage. Keeper batter and experienced campaigner Mohammad Rizwan came out to bat next.
The duo of Rizwan and Sadaqat added 8 more to the tally before the debutant fell for 18 off 28 balls with 3 fours to his name to that man Rana yet again. Salman Ali Agha came out to bat next. The experienced duo of Rizwan and Salman could add another 9 runs to the tally before Rizwan chased at a wide ball outside off-stump to fall for 10 off 20 balls with 2 fours to his name to Rana. Hussain Talat came to the crease next.
5 more runs were added to the tally before Salman fell for 5 off 8 balls with one boundary to his name to Rana who completed his 5-wicket haul. Abdul Samad came out to bat next, another debutant as Pakistan had lost half their side for 69 inside 18 overs. Just one run was added to the tally before Samad fell for a 6-ball duck to Mehidy Hasan Miraz who joined in the wickets taking column. Faheem Ashraf came to the middle next.
Talat and Ashraf added 7 more to the score before the former fell for 4 off 13 balls LBW to Miraz on good usage of DRS with the on-field decision being overturned. Captain Shaheen Afridi came and hit a boundary to get off the mark but soon fell for 4 off 4 balls with one four to his name to his opposite number Miraz and to make it worse burnt a review. Mohammad Wasim Jnr came to the crease next. He too did not last long as a run was added to the tally before he fell for a bronze duck to Taskin Ahmed as Pakistan were now at 82/9 in 23.5 overs.
Abrar Ahmed joined Faheem in the middle. Faheem also got a reprieve early on as he was given NOT OUT for LBW but DRS was not taken by Bangladesh and so he survived as replays showed three reds. Faheem started to show resistance as he played a few shots. Boundaries and sixes came off his bat as he tried to take Pakistan to some sort of a score beyond 100. He was hit on the helmet as well but he looked fine to carry on the batting. He punished the bowlers that were troubling the other batters.
Faheem added a valuable 32 runs for the final wicket and scored all the runs as Abrar was unbeaten on 0 off 10 balls in the end. Faheem hit a few boundaries and a maximum and took the score from 82 to 114 before he was holed out at midwicket for 37 off 47 balls as he top scored in the innings hitting 6 fours and a maximum. Mustafizur Rahman picked up his wicket. Abrar remained unbeaten on 0 off 10 balls as Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 30.4 overs. Just 5 extras given by the fielding side.
For Bangladesh, Nahid Rana was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5/24 in 7 overs. He was ably supported by Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the captain finished with 3/29 in 10 overs. Taskin Ahmed chipped in with 1/29 in 7 overs while Mustafizur Rahman picked up the last wicket to fall and finished with 1/18 in 4.4 overs. Rishad Hossain bowled 2 overs for 10 runs. This meant that Bangladesh needed a mere 115 runs to win off 50 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series.
Tanzid Hasan’s sparkling unbeaten half-century helps Bangladesh crush Pakistan by 8 wicketsÂ
Chasing 115 for the win, Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan opened the batting for Bangladesh while Shaheen Afridi Pakistan’s captain started things off for Pakistan. Pakistan bowlers were generous with the ball as wides were given away for free as Bangladesh who did not have any scoreboard pressure got off to a fast start. The opening duo added 27 inside the first 3 overs before Saif fell for 4 off 10 balls to Afridi himself. Najmul Hossain Shanto came out to bat next with the target already below 100.
There was no looking back for Bangladesh from here as the runs came freely. Bangladesh treated this chase as a 20-over game than a 50-over game. Tanzid was the aggressor of the two and took the bowling apart. Shanto oozed class and played the perfect role of second fiddle. The duo scored the runs at double quick time. Pakistan bowling much like their batting was flat as it could be and they were resigned to their fate.
The duo added a match-winning 82 runs off 67 balls with Tanzid completing a fantastic half-century. The duo brought the total within touching distance for the win. 100 was crossed and they were 109/2 in the 14th over before Shanto fell for 27 off 33 balls with 5 fours to his name to Muhammad Wasim Jnr. Litton Das the keeper batter came to the crease with 6 needed for the win to complete the formalities.
The duo added 6 runs unbeaten off 8 balls as the winning runs came off another wide summing up Pakistan’s day bowling loads of wides. Tanzid remained unbeaten on 67 off 42 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes to his name while Litton remained unbeaten on 3 off 6 balls. 14 extras in the form of wides was gifted by Pakistan in 15.1 overs as Bangladesh romped home by 8 wickets with 34.5 overs to spare.
Pakistan had a low score to defend and the bowling was flat as well. Shaheen Afridi finished with 1/35 in 5 overs. Muhammad Wasim Jnr finished with 1/24 in 3.1 overs. Faheem Ashraf gave away 19 runs in 2 overs. Abrar Ahmed went for 25 runs in 3 overs. Salman Ali Agha bowled 2 overs for 12 runs. So, Bangladesh win by 8 wickets to go 1-0 up in 3 -match ODI series. Nahid Rana was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, Bangladesh are up 1-0 in the 3-match ODI series. The second ODI will take place on Friday 13th of March, 2026 live at the same venue Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. Bangladesh would like to seal the series there itself while Pakistan will be desperate for a comeback in the series. How will things pan out on Friday? Only time will tell.
Also Read: BAN VS PAK: Nahid Rana’s 5-Wicket Haul Floors Pakistan.