Pakistan kicked off their tri-series against Bangladesh and New Zealand with a 21-run win over Bangladesh in the opener at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
The no.1 T20 Batter in the world, Mohammad Rizwan, once again led the side with the bat scoring another brilliant 78 not out from 50 balls to help his side reach a respectable total of 167/5 before the bowlers took over to ensure a routine win for the Green Shirts.
Asked to bat first, Pakistan relied on the tried formula of building cautiously with Rizwan and Babar Azam stringing another 50-run opening stand to give their side a launching pad.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz broke the stand with his first ball leaving incoming Shan Masood and Rizwan to build once again.
After Shan’s dismissal with Pakistan on 94 and looking for quick runs, the middle order faltered again with Haider Ali (6), Iftikhar Ahmed (13) and Asif Ali (4) all failing to make significant contributions to the score, leaving Rizwan to pick up the pace and steer his side to a decent total.
His innings included seven 4’s and two 6’s.
In reply, Bangladesh managed to hold its own against Pakistan’s renowned bowling attack to keep pace with the required run rate. Even after quick wickets, Litton Das and Afif Hossain powered the chase with 35 and 25 runs respectively to give Bangladesh faint hopes of an upset.
But Pakistan managed to take timely wickets at important junctions to ensure a comfortable win in the end.
Mohammad Wasim finished with figures of 4-0-24-3 while Mohammad Nawaz took two important scalps from his four overs for just 25 runs.
Shadab Khan, Shahnawa Dahani, and Haris Rauf also managed to snag one wicket each.
There is little rest for Pakistan after their tri-series opener win against Bangladesh as they will take on New Zealand in the next contest tomorrow.
