BAN vs PAK: Bangladesh cruised past Pakistan with an eight-wicket win in the first ODI in Dhaka. Pakistan, after being put in to bat, collapsed for just 114 runs in 30.4 overs. Nahid Rana tore through the Pakistan batting lineup, grabbing five wickets, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz chipped in with three more. Hafeez Ashraf tried to hold things together and top-scored for Pakistan with 37.
Chasing a small total, Bangladesh barely broke a sweat. They knocked off the runs in just 15.1 overs and lost only two wickets along the way. Tanzid Hasan Tamim stole the show, smashing 67 off 42 balls and finishing unbeaten. He hammered five sixes and seven fours while Pakistan’s bowlers had no answer. Pakistan’s regular captain, Babar Azam, isn’t included for this tour. After struggling in the T20 World Cup, he lost his place in the ODI squad.
Bangladesh lost Saif Hasan early, caught for four in the third over. But then Tanzid and Nazmul Hossain Shanto put on a solid 82-run partnership for the second wicket, pushing Bangladesh right to the brink of victory. Shanto fell for 27 in the 14th over, bowled by Mohammad Wasim. But by then the game was pretty much done. Tanzid and Liton Das wrapped things up without any drama.
Earlier, apart from Ashraf, only the debutants Sahibzada Farhan (27) and Muaz Sadaqat (18) managed double digits for Pakistan. The visitors actually started well, with Farhan and Sadaqat putting together 41 for the first wicket. But Rana broke their stand by dismissing Farhan at the end of the 10th over and things unraveled from there. Rana ran through the middle order, sending back Sadaqat, Shamil Hussain, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha in quick succession. At 69 for five, Pakistan looked lost.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz kept up the pressure, removing Hussain Talat, Abdul Samad, and Shaheen Afridi. Taskin Ahmed chipped in too, getting rid of Mohammad Wasim for a duck. Suddenly, Pakistan were staring at 82 for nine. Ashraf did his best to save face, adding 32 runs for the last wicket with Abrar Ahmed, who didn’t score. Mustafizur Rahman ended the resistance by dismissing Ashraf in the 31st over.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan- 114 all-out in 30.4 overs (Faheem Ashraf 37, Sahibzada Farhan 27; Nahid Rana 5-24, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3-29) lost to Bangladesh- 115/2 in 15.1 overs (Tanzid Hasan Tamim 67*, Najmul Hossain Shanto 27; Shaheen Afridi 1-35) by 8 wickets.
