Pakistan Beats Bangladesh in Asia Cup Super 4 Opener
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s fast bowling trio, led by Haris Rauf, delivered an impressive performance that led to a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the first Super 4 game of the Asia Cup. The ODI tournament is now shifting to Sri Lanka, where Pakistan is set to face arch-rival India on Sunday. This match comes after their group-stage game was abandoned due to rain. Additionally, Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka on Saturday as part of the tournament.
Haris Rauf, with figures of 4 wickets for 19 runs in 6 overs, proved to be too fast and formidable for the Bangladeshi batsmen. Naseem Shah, bowling 5.4 overs and giving away 34 runs while taking 3 wickets, also troubled them relentlessly. This was despite Shakib Al Hasan’s decision to bat first. Bangladesh was eventually dismissed for a meager 193 runs in just 38.4 overs, even though there was a 100-run partnership and both Shakib (53 off 57 balls) and former captain Mushfiqur Rahim (64 off 87 balls) scored half-centuries. The target was never going to be a challenge for the home team, as they comfortably achieved it in just 39.3 overs.
Despite Fakhar Zaman’s ongoing struggle for form and Babar Azam getting bowled by a delivery from Taskin Ahmed that stayed low, Imam-ul-Haq’s performance was characterized by elegance during his 84-ball innings.
In total, he struck five fours and four sixes while holding the innings together alongside Mohammad Rizwan, who remained unbeaten with 63 runs off 79 balls. Together, they forged an 85-run partnership for the third wicket, ensuring a smooth and trouble-free chase. Imam’s talent was evident in two of his sixes during the innings. One was a pull-shot over mid-wicket off Mehidy Hasan Miraj, and the other was an inside-out loft over long-off against Shakib.
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Earlier in the match, Bangladesh experienced two batting collapses. First, their top-order crumbled during the Power Play, and then the lower middle-order collapsed towards the end of the innings. They were struggling at 47 for 4 during the first Powerplay and later lost six wickets for just 47 runs between overs 30 to 39.
Rauf created fear among the batsmen with his sheer pace, while Naseem (3/34 in 5.4 overs) complemented it with seam and swing. The trouble for Bangladesh began in the second over when the previous match’s centurion, Mehidy Hasan Miraj (0), attempted a flick off the first delivery he faced from Naseem but ended up handing a catch to mid-wicket.
Mohammed Naim (20) and Litton Das (16) managed to hit a series of boundaries, taking the score to 31 runs before Shaheen Shah Afridi (1/42 in 7 overs) delivered a rising delivery to Litton Das. Litton could only awkwardly fend at it, and Mohammed Rizwan completed the catch to dismiss him.
After that, Rauf, introduced as a change in the bowling attack, began delivering at a pace that the opposing batsmen hadn’t anticipated. Rauf, known for hitting those hard lengths, put Naim in a tight spot as he attempted a pull-shot, but Naim could only manage to offer a straightforward return catch.
Towhid Hridoy (2) struggled to cope as Rauf altered his line by going slightly wider off the crease and delivering at a speed exceeding 140 kmph. Hridoy failed to get his bat down in time and was bowled.
Shakib and Mushfiqur, experienced veterans with a long history of battles for Bangladesh over the past decade and a half, then tried to stabilize the innings. However, the early collapse of the top order left them with a daunting task.
With no Mohammed Nawaz in the lineup, Pakistan had four pacers in operation, and the duo of Shakib and Mushfiqur had to initiate the rescue mission. However, once Shakib was caught deep off Faheem Ashraf (1/27 in 7 overs), Bangladesh’s innings started to unravel.
Final 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
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