ISLAMABAD: Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi’s triple strike, followed by splendid bowling by Haris Rauf and Muhammad Waseem, restricted Bangladesh to 204 runs in the ICC World Cup match being played at Eden Garden Kolkata, India, on Tuesday.
Due to superb bowling by Pakistan’s pace attack, Bangladesh were all out in the 46th over with 29 balls to spare. Shaheen Afridi was the most successful bowler, taking three wickets, and was looking in his awesome form. Muhamad Waseem also got three wickets, while Haris Rauf grabbed two wickets. Usama Mir and Iftikhar got one wicket each.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Bangladesh decided to bat first. Shaheen Shah Afridi was looking in good form and struck in the first over to dismiss Tanzid on zero. In his second over, Shaheen struck again and got rid of Najmul Hasan Shanto on 4. Bangladesh lost their 3rd wicket on 23 in the sixth over when Harif Rauf removed Mushfiqur-Rahim.
After losing three quick wickets, Litton Dar and in-form Mahmudullah stayed on the crease and contributed 79 runs, a crucial partnership for the team. However, in the 21st over, Iftikhar managed to dismiss Litton Das on 45. Litton was replaced by the skipper Shakib-Al-Hasan, who also contributed some crucial runs.
In the 31st over, when Shaheen came back to bowling, he bowled Mahmudullah on a terrific good length delivery on 56. In the next over, Usama Mir removed the new batter, Towhid Hridoy, for 7 runs. The next was Shakib who after scoring a good knock of 43, was dismissed by Harif Rauf.
Bangladesh batters were pushing their scoreboard properly. However, Pakistani bowlers also managed to take wickets with interval. In the 44th over, Waseem got two wickets. First, he dismissed Mehidy Hasan Miraz on 25 and Taskin Ahmad. In the 46th over, Waseem took his third wicket to bowled out Mustafizur Rehman on 3. Bangladesh were all out on 204 in 45.1 overs.
From Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi was the most successful bowler who took pressure on Bangladesh while taking early quick wickets. He got three wickets while conceding 23 runs in his 9 over spill. Muhamad Waseem also got three wickets, while Haris Rauf took two wickets. Usama Mir and Iftikhar got one wicket each.
Pakistan Team
Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan †, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Mohammad Wasim and Haris Rauf
Bangladesh Team
Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das †, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam
