LAHORE – Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 37 runs in the T20I series opener at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Chasing a challenging 202-run target for victory, Bangladesh kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were bundled out for 164 in 19.2 overs.
Skipper Litton Das was the highest scorer with 48 runs, followed by Jaker Ali, who contributed 36 runs. Opener Tanzid Hasan made 31 runs, and Towhid Hirdoy 17 runs. No other batter could enter the double figures.
Hasan Ali was the chief destroyer with his career-best bowling performance of 5/30. Shadab Khan bagged two wickets while Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah and Faheem Ashraf got one wicket each. Shadab Khan was named player of the match for his all-around performance.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan reached 201/7 in the allocated 20 overs despite losing key wickets of Fakhar Zaman (1) and Saim Ayub (0) early.
Skipper Salman Agha was the top scorer for Pakistan with 56 runs, followed by Shadab Khan, who made 48. Hasan Nawaz contributed 44, Mohammad Haris 31 and Faheem Ashraf 11 not out. Shoriful Islam bagged two wickets while Mehdi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain and Shamim Hossain picked one wicket each.
Pakistan Playing XI: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Salman Agha (capt), Hasan Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Hassan Ali, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Bangladesh Playing XI: Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Litton Das (capt), Towhid Hridoy, Mahedi Hasan, Jaker Ali (wk), Shamim Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam
