Bangladesh and Pakistan match has been considered a battle for prestige throughout the years. Since Bangladesh first defeated the 1992 champions in their inaugural World Cup campaign, this outing has been tinged with suspense and surprise. The green warriors faced each other at Lahore’s historic Gaddafi Stadium in the first match of the “Super 4” stage of the Asia Cup.
Team Lineups
Both teams made a singular change to their eleven for this mouth-watering clash.
Bangladesh
1. Mohammad Naim 2. Mehidy Hasan 3. Liton Das 4. Shakib Al Hasan 5. Towhid Hridoy 6. Mushfiqur Rahim 7. Shamim Hossain 8. Afif Hossain 9. Taskin Ahmed 10. Shoriful Islam 11. Hasan Mahmud
Pakistan
1. Fakhar Zaman 2. Imam-Ul-Haq 3. Babar Azam 4. Mohammad Rizwan 5. Salman Ali Agha 6. Iftikhar Ahmed 7. Shadab Khan 8. Faheem Ashraf 9. Shaheen Afridi 10. Naseem Shah 11. Haris Rauf
Bangladesh won the toss and Shakib Al Hasan elected to bat first on a flat wicket in Lahore
Key Performances
Haris Rauf dismantled the inexperienced Bangladeshi batting order with a seething pace and bouncers. Naseem Shah was another who enjoyed an afternoon of dominance. Shakib and Mushfiq were among the runs on a sorry-looking visiting scorecard.
Imam and Rizwan gave a lesson on how to bat on a flat pitch like Lahore. Their partnership of 85 runs turned out to be the match-winning stand.
Batting Performance
The Bangladeshi batsmen can be accused of naivety throughout their innings. They were playing spectacular shots along the ground but failed to build the innings by throwing away their wickets. The returning Liton Das looked to be in great touch with two dazzling cover drives. But he chased one outside off and edged it to the keeper. Mohammad Naim tried to play horizontal bat shots which eventually led to his early demise.
Towhid Hridoy played down the wrong line and lost his wicket. Shakib and Mushfiq started the rebuilding act. Shakib was in a positive frame of mind and scored runs quickly. Mushfiq used slog sweep to good effect. Both Shamim (16 from 23) & Afif (12 from 11) showed early signs of promise but got dismissed playing tentative shots. Eventually Bangladesh’s total fell short of 200 as there was no sting in the tail.
A solid batting display enabled Pakistan to reach the intended target within 40 years. Imam-Ul-Haque scored 78 from 84 balls – an innings that is touched by poise and grace. The left-hander is quite fond of chasing, his average jumps from 51.7 to 52.50 in the second innings of an ODI. Babar Azam will feel disappointed missing out on the chance of scoring some runs. Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten 63 made sure Pakistan reached their target with comfort.
Bowling Performance
The Bangladeshi swiftly capitulated once the Pakistani express bowlers got going. Naseem Shah quickly dismissed Mehidy Hasan on a golden duck. The towering Shaheen got rid of Liton Das with a menacing short-pitch delivery.
But the day belonged to Haris Rauf. At times, The Rawalpindi native reminded the cricket fan of another certain pace bowler from his hometown. Even the great Shoaib Akhtar would have been proud of a display of pace combined with accuracy like this. Rauf reached 50 wickets as the third quickest Pakistani and the Bangladeshi batsmen seemed to have no answer to his raw pace. Rauf has been enjoying his bowling more in 2023, he has picked up 24 wickets so far at an average of 21.91. Naseem Shah had a shoulder scare but came back to torment the Bangladeshi batsmen. Faheem and Iftikhar finished with a wicket apiece.
The Bangladeshi bowlers gave their all in order to make life difficult for the Pakistani batsmen. Shoriful Islam has been impressive in this tournament, he bowled with a lot of vigour. The young pacer from Northern Bangladesh finished the night with a figure of 1/24. Taskin Ahmed also caused one or two issues and picked up Babar Azam with a brilliant delivery. However, with a meagre total to defend, it was obvious that Pakistan would win the match quite easily.
Fielding Performance
This Pakistan side is different from any other in terms of fielding performance. They were agile in saving runs and caught everything that was thrown at them. The only exception was Naseem’s dropped chance of Shakib off his own bowling.
This Bangladeshi young side is improving fast but the lack of experience gets exposed sometimes. They seem sluggish and on occasion reluctant out on the field. They have not grasped the idea of “attacking the ball” yet.
Captaincy & Tactics
Shakib Al Hasan’s plan of throwing Mehidy Hasan before the Pakistani new ball failed miserably. Bangladeshi game plan during batting was puzzling, to say the least, because the batsmen were trying to play aggressively against one of the best bowling units in the world. Offence might be the best form of defence, but not in this case.
Babar Azam used the bowling weapons in his arsenal quite adroitly. The plan to bowl short with the new ball worked perfectly. The three-pronged attack of Shaheen-Naseem-Haris worked together to put Bangladesh’s batting to the sword.
There were not enough runs on the board for the Bangladeshi captain to devise a plan to thwart Pakistan’s easy route to victory.
Turning Point
After 29 overs, Bangladesh were 147/4 with Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease. The veterans have put on a partnership of over 100 runs after the early damage done by the Pakistani quicks. On the first ball of the 30th over bowled by Faheem Ashraf, Shakib Al Hasan chipped one to deep midwicket and got out cheaply. The Bangladeshi skipper played one shot too many and disappointment was etched on his face. Bangladesh seemed to be on course for 250-260 but ended well short of the 200 mark.
Match Result
In this one-sided affair, Pakistan demolished Bangladesh by 3 wickets and is the first side with points on the board in the “Super 4” stage of the Asia Cup 2023.
Brief Scorecard
| Bangladesh | Pakistan |
| Total 193 (38.4 overs) | Total 194/3 (39.3 overs) |
| Mushfiqur Rahim 64 (87) | Imam-Ul-Haq 78 (84) |
| Shakib Al Hasan 53 (57) | Mohammad Rizwan 63* (79) |
| Haris Rauf 4/19 | Shoriful Islam 1/24 |
| Naseem Shah 3/34 | Taskin Ahmed 1/32 |
Match Highlights
Match Wrap-Up
The Pakistani pace bowlers struck early and the game became a formality from there on. Bangladeshi batters were architects of their own downfalls with a kamikaze style of batting. A couple of fifties from Imam and Rizwan made the hosts cruise to victory with 63 balls remaining. Bangladesh will need to regroup and contemplate some bad decisions before their next match against Sri Lanka. As for Pakistan, they have earned their much-deserved rest before the monumental clash against India on the 10th of September.
