Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets in a nail-biting final-over thriller at the Hagley Oval on Thursday.
Competing in the sixth game of the tri-series, the men in green chased down the target with only one ball to spare, the star of their innings were Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz.
Rizwan, the no.1 batter in the world once made his presence felt with an impeccable 69 off 56. While Nawaz with rocketry knock of 45 in just 20 handed the game into Pakistan’s favour.
Earlier, Bangladesh posted 173 on board in 20 overs, courtesy of strong batting performances from Litton Das (69), Shakib Al Hasan (68).
Pakistan Vs Bangladesh match highlights
Bangladesh after winning the toss opted to bat, but Pakistani bowlers walked in to the field with different mindset they removed two early batters to put The Tigers on back foot.
But, then the experienced Litton Das and the skipper Shakib Al Hasan steadied the ship and added 88 runs for the third wicket.
Litton scored 69 runs, while the skipper posted 68. Both took 42 balls in the process. Das was very fast while rotating the strike, while Shakib believed mostly in boundaries.
Their partnership soaked the whole pressure from team Bangladesh. And while batting, Das smashed six fours and two sixes, while Shakib struck seven fours and three maximums.
The right-hander lost his wicket while trying to sweep against Mohammad Nawaz. At the time he departed the Tigers already reached 129 in 14.5.
With Shakib continued to play exceptional knock from the other end, Bangladesh were looking to touch even the 180. However, his removal in the second last over of the innings halted their chances to touch the 180-mark, as team Bangladesh settled for 173 for 6 in 20 overs.
Pakistan to chase 174 in 20 overs
The men in green started their run-chase in their own fashion, as the celebrated openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam added 101 runs for the first wicket.
Both were looking fearless in the run-chase and easily help their side cross the 100-run mark inside 13 overs.
Babar, however, lost his wicket in the process, but his knock of 55 in 40 balls set the tone for the Pakistan side. In the same over, Haider Ali got dismissed wicket even scoring a single run.
Mohammad Rizwan, from the other end, continued his anchoring role. He got the support from talented Mohammad Nawaz, who snatched the victory from Bangladesh’s hands with his unbeaten 45-run knock in 20 balls. His knock included five fours and a single six.
The match again turned dramatic when Rizwan lost his wicket after playing a knock of 69 off 56 when Pakistan required more 9 runs to win in 8 balls.
Shakib handed Saifuddin to defend 8 runs of the final over, but he failed to do so due to Nawaz’s brilliance, who smashed three consecutive twos, and a magnificent boundary on the 5th bowl to help Pakistan win the game by 7 wickets with 1 ball to spare.
