DHAKA: Mohammad Hafeez and Umar Gul put in impressive all-round performances as Pakistan posted an exciting 21-run victory over Bangladesh in the opening match of the Asia Cup tournament on Sunday.
Opener Hafeez top-scored with a solid 89 and then grabbed two wickets, while Gul made a crucial 39 and took three wickets before Pakistan bowled Bangladesh out for 241 after posting 262-8 in the day-night match in Dhaka.
The duo upstaged Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who sustained his team's hopes with a 66-ball 64 before being the last man out. Hafeez was named man of the match.
The hosts were struggling at 135-5, but Shakib and Nasir Hossain (47) gave some anxious moments to Pakistan with an 89-run stand for the sixth wicket.
Bangladeshi opener Tamim Iqbal, initially dropped from the squad by the country's cricket chief before being added as a 15th member, scored 64 with the help of one six and six fours.
But Hafeez bowled well-set Tamim and trapped Mohammad Mahmudullah leg-before with his next delivery before Gul dismissed Nasir and Shakib to complete Pakistan's victory.
Pakistan were earlier well placed at 160-1 following a 135-run stand for the opening wicket between Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed (54) before they lost six wickets for just 38 runs.
Paceman Shahadat Hossain (3-53) and left-arm spinner Shakib (2-41) did the damage, but Gul added 53 vital runs for the eighth wicket with Sarfraz Ahmed (19 not out).
Pakistan made a steady start after being put in to bat as Hafeez and Jamshed batted confidently against both pace and spin, playing some handsome shots during their 27.5-over stand.
Jamshed, who played his last one-dayer in August 2009, hit one six and five fours in his 64-ball knock before he was run out soon after completing his fifth half-century.
Shahadat started Pakistan's slide when he dismissed Younis Khan (12), Hafeez and Asad Shafiq (four) in successive overs.
Hafeez looked set to reach his fourth one-day hundred before he was caught by Shafiul Islam at square-leg while attempting to pull Shahadat. He hit seven fours in his 126-ball knock.
Shakib removed Umar Akmal (21) and then held a return catch in the same over to account for Shahid Afridi after fumbling twice before finally holding the ball as it ricocheted off non-striker Misbah-ul-Haq.
Afridi, who was just one short of 7,000 one-day runs, failed to open his account.
Defending champions India and Sri Lanka are the other teams in the fray. Each side will play the other once in the round-robin league, with the top two advancing to the final on March 22.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.