Pakistan didn’t have the best of the starts losing a couple of wickets in the first two overs before Salman Agha, Mohammad Haris and Shadab Khan led the fightback and bowlers put on a show in Lahore for the hosts to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against Bangladesh.
Pakistan overcame a difficult start to tighten screws over Bangladesh with both bat and ball to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series on the back of all-round effort in the opening game at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday, May 28. The captain and vice-captain, Salman Agha and Shadab Khan, combined to push Pakistan’s score beyond 200 before Hasan Ali stuck in and registered his maiden five-wicket haul as Bangladesh lost the steam after gaining an early advantage.
It was an abhorrent start for Pakistan, losing both their dashers, Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman and the danger of the same old story repeating itself was very evident. The repair job from Salaman Agha was cautious but Mohammad Haris played his shots. His innings didn’t last long, but the 18-ball 31 eventually became a bridge between the start and the eventual acceleration.
Agha smashed an outstanding fifty and Hasan Nawaz and Shadab Khan contributed crucial 40s at near-200 strike rates to take care of the latter overs. Pakistan were really severe on the leggie Rishad Hossain as he ended up conceding 55 runs off his last four overs.
A six from Faheem Ashraf in the end took Pakistan to the psychological 200-number and Bangladesh had their task cut out. Jaker Ali, captain Litton Das and opener Tanzid Hasan tried adding life to Bangladesh’s innings, but the regular wickets didn’t help the innings’ flow for Bangladesh. Whenever the Bangladesh batters tried to up the ante, they would lose a wicket at the other end.
Falling wickets disrupted momentum for the visitors multiple times as Hasan Ali, fresh off a sensational PSL for Karachi Kings, ran riot to register his maiden five-wicket haul and Bangladesh ended up 37 runs short of the target. It was a winning start for Mike Hesson and Co in his first game of the new assignment as Pakistan’s white-ball coach and he would be keen to sweep Bangladesh with bigger and tougher challengers to come.
For Pakistan, the change in personnel and the belief in the ones doing well in the PSL seems to be working but the team management and the selectors need to trust and give time to the new captain and this squad to be able to function fully, come the T20 World Cup next year.
