Nahid Rana came into the attack later on towards the end of first powerplay and he made an impact and how. He changed the game as his 5-wicket haul blowing the top 5 away went a long way in Pakistan getting bowled out for 114 in the 31st over. Mehidy Hasan Miraz the captain supported him with 3 wickets as well as Pakistan after a steady first powerplay fell like a pack of cards as they collapsed from 41/0 to 82/9 inside 24 overs. Faheem Ashraf’s late resistance took them past 100 as the 32-run last wicket stand took Pakistan to 114.
Still, it is Bangladesh’s game and they have to bat horrendously to lose this from this position.
Pakistan gets off to a steady start before Sahibzada Farhan falls to Nahid Rana on last ball of powerplay.Â
Put into bat first, debutants Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat came out to open the batting for Pakistan while Taskin Ahmed had ball in hand for Bangladesh. Taskin bowled an excellent first over. Mustafizur Rahman shared the new ball from the other end. He too bowled a tight over. Taskin continued as Farhan broke the shackles by driving the ball down the ground past the bowler for a boundary and followed it up with a punch through covers for a boundary.
Mustafizur continued as Sadaqat crunched the ball on the up through covers for a boundary. Taskin continued and kept things under check. Rahman continued as Sadaqat smashed it by lofting the ball towards mid-off for a boundary. We had the first change in bowling as captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz brought himself into the attack. He too bowled a tight over as Farhan survived a minor scare as the ball fell short of the backward square leg fielder.
Rahman continued as Farhan crunched him by throwing his hands at it and the ball went away to the backward point region fence for a boundary. Miraz continued as Sadaqat showed his aggression by using his feet and pumped the ball over mid-on for a boundary.
Nahid Rana came into the attack to bowl the last over of the mandatory powerplay. Farhan slapped the ball through cover point region for a boundary. Pakistan looked good to be 0 down at the end of the powerplay but in the last ball of the powerplay, Rana hit back as he got rid of Farhan for 27 off 38 balls with 4 fours to his name as the short and wide ball was cut away straight to the backward point fielder where Afif Hossain took the catch nicely.
Another debutant Shamyl Hussain came out to bat next and at the end of the powerplay, Pakistan were 41/1 in 10 overs with Sadaqat unbeaten on 14 off 22 balls and Shamyl Hussain just came to the crease.
Nahid Rana strikes twice to put Pakistan on the back foot on the completion of 15 overs.Â
Mehidy Hasan Miraz continued and should have got a wicket but Tanzid Hasan got to the ball but spilled the catch as Hussain got a reprieve. Rana continued and he got rid of Hussain proving that the dropped catch did not prove costly as the back of the length ball was pulled but it hurried on the batter for it to get the top edge but Litton Das made no mistake with gloves on. Mohammad Rizwan walked out to bat next and got 4 leg byes from the bowler as the 50 came up for Pakistan in 11.4 overs.
Taskin came back into the attack and bowled another miserly over. Rana continued and struck again as the short ball theory worked for Bangladesh as it was aimed at middle and leg stump cramping the batter who went for the pull shot and was hurried once again as the top edge flew to deep fine leg. Saif ran forward and took the catch. Salman Ali Agha came out to bat next as Drinks was taken at this point in time.
Taskin continued as Rizwan punished the short of length ball by pulling it away to the deep midwicket fence for a boundary. At the end of 15 overs, Pakistan were 60/3 with Rizwan unbeaten on 6 off 15 balls and Salman Ali Agha unbeaten on 0 off 2 balls.
Nahid Rana completes his 5-wicket haul as Bangladesh bamboozle Pakistan.Â
Nahid Rana continued as Rizwan hit the short ball by rocking back and cutting it to deep point for a boundary. But Rana had the last laugh as he dismissed Rizwan for 10 off 20 balls with 2 fours to his name as the good length delivery outside the off-stump got the outside edge as the keeper Litton made no mistake. Hussain Talat came out to bat next. Mehidy continued and bowled another tight over.
Rana continued as Salman got a streaky boundary as he drove away from the body and got an inside edge past the leg stump and away to the deep fine leg fence. Rana completed a sensational five-wicket haul as he dismissed Agha for 5 off 8 balls with one four to his name as the short of a length ball was worked to the leg side and could not keep it down as Tanzid at short leg took the catch on the third attempt. Abdul Samad came out to bat on his debut as well.
Miraz continued and got his first wicket as he dismissed Samad for a 6-ball duck LBW after good usage of DRS as the umpire had given it NOT OUT but replays confirmed three reds and the batter had to depart. Faheem Ashraf came out to bat next. Rana continued and bowled a decent over as Pakistan were 71/6 in 20 overs. Miraz too bowled another tight over.
Rana continued as Ashraf survived a LBW scare. The appeal was turned down by Dharmasena but Bangladesh opted against the review and we saw Three Reds on Ball Tracking on replays and it was a missed opportunity for Bangladesh. How costly will that be? Only time would tell. Ashraf then drilled the ball through mid-off and extra cover into the gap for a boundary and a welcome one for Pakistan.
Miraz the captain continued and he got another as he dismissed Talat for 4 off 13 balls thanks to good usage of DRS as the on-field umpire had given it NOT OUT. Ball tracking on replays showed three reds and the batter had to walk back to the hut. Captain Shaheen Afridi came to the crease next and got off the mark with a boundary as he got down on one knee and slogged it to deep midwicket for a boundary.
Miraz got his opposite number as he dismissed Afridi a few balls later for 4 off 4 balls with one four to his name LBW. The batter reviewed in hope and burnt it for Pakistan. Mohammad Wasim Jnr came out to bat next. Taskin Ahmed came back into the attack and he dismissed Wasim for a bronze duck as the edge was found and Shanto took the catch at first slip. Abrar Ahmed came out to bat next.
Faheem with one wicket left decided to take on the bowling as Ashraf got down on one knee and smashed it down the ground to beat long-on for a boundary. He followed that up with a slog sweep for a one bounce boundary at midwicket region. At the halfway stage of the innings, Pakistan were 91/9 in 25 overs with Faheem unbeaten on 14 off 21 balls and Abrar unbeaten on 0 off 2 balls.
Taskin continued and shook Faheem up with a blow on helmet and a mandatory concussion check was done on him. Ashraf smashed Taskin by getting forward and threw his hands at it to drive it uppishly past mid-off for a boundary. Faheem then went big as he swivel pulled the ball over deep backward square leg for the maximum as 100 came up for Pakistan in 25.4 overs for the loss of 9 wickets. Miraz continued and bowled a quiet over.
Rishad Hossain came into the attack for the first time today and he was welcomed with a boundary by Ashraf who got into the position to play the reverse sweep past deep backward point. Pakistan reached 108/9 in 28 overs as we paused for the final Drinks Break of the innings with Faheem Ashraf trying to add valuable runs batting on 31* off 34 balls alongside Abrar Ahmed’s 0 off 7 balls.
Mehidy continued after the break and bowled a tidy over to complete his spell. Rishad continued and Faheem was making Bangladesh pay for the earlier missed chance of DRS as he cut the ball past deep cover point for a boundary. Pakistan took their score to 114/9 in 30 overs as this last wicket partnership was showing stern resistance to Bangladesh bowlers.
Mustafizur Rahman came back into the attack and he finally ended the resistance of Faheem Ashraf and Pakistan and ended the resistance of the Men in Green as well. Faheem fell for a valiant 37 off 47 balls with 6 fours and one six to his name. The ball was on a length which Faheem stayed leg side and tried to muscle it away and ended up pulling it to midwicket where Taskin dived to his right and took the catch. He tumbled down but managed to hold onto it.
Abrar remained unbeaten on 0 off 10 balls as Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 30.4 overs with 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 who finished with 3/29 in 10 overs. Taskin Ahmed finished with 1/29 in 7 overs while Mustafizur Rahman finished with 1/18 in 4.4 overs. Rishad Hossain bowled 2 overs for 10 runs. Bangladesh needs 115 runs to win off 50 overs to go 1-0 up in 3-match series.
Who’s Winning, Bangladesh or Pakistan?Â
Bangladesh have done really well thanks to Nahid Rana’s 5-wicket haul to skittle Pakistan out for 114 in 30.4 overs. It is Bangladesh’s game to lose from here. Yes, the pitch has assistance for bowlers but if Bangladesh applies themselves they will reach the target. Pakistan has to provide a magical spell with ball to win this game out of nowhere.
Let’s see what the run chase has in-store for us.
Also Read:Â BAN vs PAK: Bangladesh Tussle Against Pakistan Ahead Of ODI WC 2027