World T20, 14th Match, Super 10 Group 2: Bangladesh v Pakistan at Kolkata, Mar 16, 2016, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. After struggling mightily in previous games, Pakistan’s batting lineup finally clicked in their opening World T20 2016 encounter against Bangladesh, winning by a margin of 55 runs. Pakistan reached 201 for 5. a total too high for a team that had defeated them in their previous two Twenty20 International matches.
With to fifty-score efforts from Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez as well as a 19-ball forty-nine from Shahid Afridi. Pakistan had only before scored more than 200 in a Twenty20 international match against Bangladesh in April 2008. This was only the second time the country had done so. Pakistan chose to bat first and applied constant pressure from the off. They were bowled by Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman between the 9th and 14th overs of their innings.
They conceded 18 runs in three consecutive overs without hitting a four or a six. Sharjeel Khan and Shehzad were Pakistan’s opening duo, their fourth pairing in Twenty20 Internationals this year. Sharjeel got things started, hitting two sixes and a four off Al-Amin Hossain in the second over. In the subsequent over, Arafat Sunny trapped Sharjeel, but Hafeez came in and struck a clean six off his second ball, demonstrating his rapid progress.
After hitting a calm cover drive off Taskin Ahmed in the opening over, Shehzad proceeded to push the bowler over midwicket and eventually hit Sunny over extra-cover. While Hafeez was hitting boundaries with his balls, his first three fours were nice strokes of the bat. Hafeez and Shehzad shared identical scores at the end of the Powerplay, but Shehzad took the lead and reached his fifty off just 35 balls.
After hitting eight fours and scoring 52 off 39 balls with Sabbir at deep midwicket, Shehzad fell in the 14th over. His removal brought an end to a 95-run partnership at the second wicket that had the Bangladeshi fielders on their toes with a combination of powerful knocks and deft strike rotation. Afridi moved up to No. 4 in order to benefit from the early start.
In the fifteenth over, bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza, Afridi hit two fours and a six off back-to-back balls to make an eighteen-run over after Hafeez had reached his fiftieth. In the following over from Al-Amin, Hafeez hit two fours and Afridi hit a straight six as the two added another eighteen runs. Shortly after hitting his seventh four, Hafeez was out for 64 off 42 balls. Soumya Sarkar caught him wonderfully at the deep midwicket boundary.
After grabbing the ball near the boundary rope, the fielder’s momentum carried him over the line, allowing him to launch the ball into the air before returning to the field to finish the catch. Bangladesh’s lone consolation in the first innings came from the nimble effort. In the ensuing overs, Afridi unleashed some serious hitting, including a four and a six off Shakib in the last over.
He was on the verge of breaking the record for the fastest fifty by a Pakistani batsman in Twenty20 Internationals going into the final over, having reached 49 off 18 balls. However, he holed out to the deep square leg fielder, missing his first T20I half-century since June 2012. Sarkar’s happiness following his brilliant catch was short-lived, as on the third ball of their chase, Mohammad Amir uprooted his off stump.
But Sabbir Rahman, who opened the game with a deftly placed four past point, made sure Bangladesh didn’t back down easily. He hit fours off Wahab Riaz and Amir through the off side, but was bowled by an arm-blow delivery from Afridi in the last Powerplay over. Tamim had hit a six off the first ball of that Afridi over to the stands beyond midwicket, and he had also lifted Malik over extra-cover in the following over.
Nevertheless, his third effort to clear the boundary was easily caught by Imad Wasim at midwicket. The majority of Bangladesh’s prospects of chasing 202 were dashed when Tamim, who has been the team’s greatest batsman thus far in the competition, was out for a 20-ball 24. Getting 133 today was way beyond Bangladesh’s reach, as they had never scored more than 87 runs in the final 10 overs in a successful Twenty20 International chase.
Bangladesh lost further ground when Mahmudullah, under pressure from an asking rate of more than 13, played a slog-sweep to Sharjeel at deep square leg in the eleventh over. Shakib remained at the wicket, but with Pakistan at 71 for 4, he had to deal with both their attack and the maddening batting of Mushfiqur Rahim on the other end. In the 11th and 17th overs, Mushfiqur had many opportunities to play but failed to score.
Shakib hit a four off the first ball in two different overs, but Mushfiqur was unable to score on the next deliveries. Additionally, Mushfiqur did not give Shakib as much of the strike, and as a result, the necessary run rate rose beyond their grasp. In the seventeenth over, Mushfiqur became Amir’s second wicket. Shehzad had dropped Shakib at midwicket on 33, but in the final over, he scored his sixth T20I fifty.
World T20 – 14th Match, Super 10 Group 2
T20I no. 536 | 2015/16 season
Played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata (neutral venue)
16 March 2016 – day/night match (20-over match)
Umpires – IJ Gould (England) and RA Kettleborough (England)
TV umpire – BNJ Oxenford (Australia)
Match referee – BC Broad (England)
Reserve umpire – Aleem Dar (Pakistan)
Live Score
Pakistan 201/5 (20/20 ov)
Bangladesh 146/6 (20.0/20 ov)
Pakistan won by 55 runs
