Bangladesh beats Pakistan by 79 runs in the 1st One-Day-International at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh. This is Bangladesh’s 1st win since the 1999 World Cup and overall their second victory against Pakistan.
Bangladesh captain Shakib ul Hassan won the toss and elected to bat first. From the looks of the pitch it looked like a supreme track for batting and the Bangladeshi batsmen didn’t disappoint the home crowd. A stellar partnership of 178 runs from the opening batsman Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim led Bangladesh to a mammoth 329 runs. It is Bangladesh’s highest ever total in their ODI history.
Tamim, the left handed batsmen scored an exquisite 132 of 135 balls. The wicket-keeper batsman, Mushfiqur scored a quick fire 107 runs facing just 77 balls. Both of the players were sent to the pavilion by left arm pace bowler Wahab Riaz. He was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, with a spell of 4-59. Saeed Ajmal returned to international cricket after 8 months. He wasn’t very successful. His figures of 10-0-74-0 are his worst figures in his ODI career. With his revised bowling action, he’ll definitely take time to adapt.
Azhar Ali, Pakistan’s new ODI captain opened the batting proceedings with Sarfraz Ahmed. Azhar Ali started his first ODI after an absence of nearly two years from the ODI format of the game. They managed to generate a steady start for the team with a 52 run partnership in between.
After Sarfraz’s departure, the returning Muhammad Hafeez returned to the International stage since he sustained an injury during the series against New-Zealand. He wasn’t on song and soon went back to the pavilion, not even reaching the double figures. Haris Sohail and Azhar provided stability, scoring 89 runs altogether.
Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail and debutant Muhammad Rizwan scored half-centuries for the team but in the end it was not enough to reach the magnanimous total of 329 runs. Pakistan was bowled all out for 250 runs with 4.4 overs to spare. Azhar Ali was the top scorer for Pakistan with 72 runs.
Team Pakistan will be looking to bounce back in the 2nd ODI which is scheduled to happen in two days time. It’s a must win game for the visitors in-order to have a fighting chance of winning the series.
