Pakistan floor listless Bangladesh to clinch series

A meek surrender by Bangladesh allowed Pakistan to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series as the visiting bowlers once again were too hot handle for the out-of-sorts Bangladesh batsmen. Pakistan riding on contributions by Umar Akmal and Afridi set 263-run target for the hosts, but another top-order slide made the chase a near impossibility.

As compared to the surfaces for first two outings at Mirpur, the pitch for today’s match was little more conducive for batsmen, prompting Misbah-ul-Haq to bat first. But, Imran Farhat’s wicket in the third over put Pakistan on the defensive. With the Bangladesh seamers using the new balls to good effect, Mohammad Hafeez and Younis Khan played safe cricket to steady the innings.

With only 29 runs coming in the first ten overs, Hafeez hit some forceful shots to give the run rate some fillip but Rubel Hossain brought an end to that endeavor before it could hurt Bangladesh. Younis Khan too couldn’t convert a start into something significant for his team, Abdur Razzak trapped him leg-before for 37.At 93 for three in the 26th over, Misbah was joined by Umar Akmal with Pakistan in need of a sizeable partnership that would lay a launch pad for the likes of Afridi. With contrasting styles of batting, the two played their natural games nicely and pushed Pakistan forward.

To start off, they turned over the strike regularly and kept the board moving, the big hits followed soon. Umar lofted Razzak over mid-on, deposited debutant Elias Sunny over cow corner and dismissed Nasir Hossain through covers as Pakistan took the powerplay went into the batting powerplay with two settled batsmen.

Umar got to his fifty with a well placed steer down to third-man fence off 49 deliveries and celebrated it with a pulled boundary off Rubel. Meanwhile, Misbah after a sluggish start had warmed up with a four on a Shakib full-toss, however, Umar holed out on 59 to end the 83-run stand. In the 42nd over, Sunny finally got his maiden wicket in one-dayers as Misbah perished trying to lift the tempo.

In walked Shahid Afridi and the second ball he faced disappeared over long-off. Shafiul Islam had an opportunity to end Afridi’s stint when he had made only eight but the bowler failed to take the catch. Afridi made Bangladesh pay by smashing 42 off just 27 deliveries and with some help from others, he was able to take Pakistan to a respectable target of 262 for seven.

Going by what Bangladesh had achieved against Pakistan thus far in the series, their batsmen had to play out of their skins to pull off the chase. The way Hafeez sent down the first over to Tamim Iqbal was enough to suggest that the hosts would struggle to even get close to the 263-run target.

Hafeez conceded only two runs from his first couple; however, Umar Gul was first among the wickets. Tamim went after a wide one, only to get the cue end of the bat and Younis did the rest at second-slip.

Imrul Kayes could hardly get the ball off the square and Hafeez put him out of the misery for 26-ball six. Shahriar Nafees was LBW to Hafeez and when Umar Gul prised out Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh had collapsed 19 for 4 after 9.1 overs.

With the Bangladesh top-order decimated inside the mandatory powerplay the chase as good as over, even though Shakib-al-Hasan and Nasir Hossain tried to reduce the margin of defeat.

They used up 32.1 overs for the 106 runs that were added for the fifth wicket. As a result, the asking rate went through the roof. By the time Shakib fell for 34 in the 42nd over, Bangladesh needed more than fifteen per over. Although, Nasir went on to get his first ODI hundred, the match and the series had gone into Pakistan’s kitty even before the last ball was bowled. Bangladesh eventually fell short by 76 runs.