Imamul Haq's enterprising 84-ball 78 and Haris Rauf's (4-19) bowling brilliance steered Pakistan to a comfortable seven-wicket victory against Bangladesh in the seventh match of Asia Cup at Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.
PAKISTAN INNINGS
Pakistan adopted circumspect approach in run chase against Bangladesh in the Super Four match.
Chasing a target of 194, Pakistan lost their first wicket in the 10th over, when Shoriful Islam trapped Fakhar Zaman by bowling a brilliant inswinger, who started off his innings cautiously and lasted for 31-ball 20, smashing three boundaries.
In the 16th over, Taskin Ahmed perplexed Babar Azam (17 off 22 balls) and the Pakistan skipper bowled out of the inside edge. Taskin executed a ball on the fuller side of a length just outside off, as it angled in.
Pakistan opener Imamul Haq, who was absolutely brilliant in terms of showcasing his resilience with the bat, smashed another 50 to ensure Pakistan moved an inch closer to 194-run target. He notched another in the 25th over which was bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
But Imam was not able to score a ton as Mehidy deceived Imam with the fuller delivery to undone him on 78.
Mohammad Rizwan (63 off 79) and Agha Salman (12 off 21) remained unbeaten to ensure Pakistan swept past Bangladesh with 63 deliveries remaining.
For Bangladesh, Shoriful Islam (1-24), Taskin Ahmed (1-32) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (1-51) took a scalp each.
Hasan Mahmud (0-46), skipper Shakib Al Hasan (0-31) and Shamim Hossain (0-8) remained wicketless.
Earlier, floodlight failure interrupted Pakistan's chase against Bangladesh in the Super Four match.
BANGLADESH INNINGS
Opting to bat first, Bangladesh were in all sorts of trouble as they were four down for merely 47. But skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, showed some resistance against Pakistan's bowling powerhouse.
The visitors were bundled out for 193 in 38.4 overs.
The Shakib Al Hasan-inspired team started off shaky and lost their first wicket on 1, when Mehidy Hasan Miraz was removed by Naseem Shah. Naseem bowled shorter, and Miraz flicked straight to Fakhar Zaman.
Litton Das was the next batter who was perplexed by Shaheen Shah Afridi on 16, which he scored interestingly by smacking four boundaries.
Mohammad Naim looked good for a 25-ball 20 and clobbered four boundaries, but in the end it was Haris Rauf who poached a catch on his bowling.
Bagging a wicket from Naim, Rauf gained immense confidence, and he castled Towhid Hridoy, who could only score 2.
One of the rare pluses of Bangladesh was the brilliant and fully-fledged 100-run partnership between Shakib Al Hasan (53), which was broken by Faheem Ashraf.
In his 58-ball 53, Shakib creamed seven boundaries.
Mushfiq also raised his bat to the gallery and worked pretty hard for runs in the scorching heat of Lahore. He was undone by Haris Rauf after compiling 87-ball 64, studding with five boundaries.
Iftikhar Ahmed was introduced in the bowling lately and he picked up wicket of Shamim Hossain, who lasted for 16.
Haris Rauf continued to apply coup de grace against Bangladesh and castled Taskin Ahmed on duck.
Babar Azam brought back Naseem Shah into the attack, who picked up two wickets in quick succession by removing Afif Hossain (12) and Shoriful Hossain (1).
For Pakistan, Haris Rauf (4-19) bagged four wickets and Naseem Shah (3-34) picked up three wickets to perplex the Bangladesh batting attack.
