DHAKA – Bangladesh beat Pakistan by eight runs in the last over thriller in Mirpur on Tuesday evening to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the T20I series.
Chasing a decent 134-run target for victory, Pakistan lost half of the side inside the powerplay with just 15 runs on the board.
After six top-order batters failing to enter double figures, Faheem Ashraf led the counterattack with a valiant contribution of 51 runs. He was well supported by his fellow bowlers Khushdil Shah (13), Abbas Afridi (19) and debutant Ahmed Daniyal (17).
Bangladesh bowlers kept their cool in the last two overs to clinch the T20I series for the home side. Shoriful Islam bagged three wickets, Mahedi Hasan and Tanzim Hasan Sakib two each and Mustafizur Rahman and Rishad Hossain one each, while Saim Ayub was run out. Jaker Ali was named player of the match.
After being asked to bat first by Pakistan skipper Salman Agha, Bangladesh managed to reach 133 in the allocated 20 overs despite losing four top-order batters inside powerplay with just 28 runs on the board.
Jaker Ali was the highest scorer for the home side with 55 runs, followed by Mahedi Hasan, who contributed 33 valuable runs. Parvez Hossain Emon made 13 runs. No other batter could enter the double figures.
Salman Mirza, Abbas Afridi and Ahmed Daniyal bagged two wickets each and Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf one each, while Towhid Hridoy and Shoriful Islam were run out.
Bangladesh Playing XI: Bangladesh XI: 1 Parvez Hossain Emon, 2 Naim Sheikh, 3 Litton Das (capt & wk), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Shamim Hossain, 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Pakistan Playing XI: 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Mohammad Haris (wk), 4 Hasan Nawaz, 5 Salman Agha (capt), 6 Mohammad Nawaz, 7 Khushdil Shah, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Abbas Afridi, 10 Salman Mirza, 11 Ahmed Daniyal
