Bangladesh crushed Pakistan by eight wickets in the first ODI, taking a 1-0 series lead. Pacer Nahid Rana’s maiden fifer (5/24) bundled out Pakistan for 114. Opener Tanzid Hasan’s quickfire 67* sealed the comprehensive victory in Dhaka.
Bangladesh registered their first ODI victory over Pakistan after the Asia Cup 2018 and that too a comprehensive one. The Mehidy Hasan Miraz-led Bangla side thrashed Pakistan in the opening ODI match by eight wickets at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday. With this win, the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead over the visitors in the three-match bilateral series.
Tigers Chase Down Target with Ease
Chasing a modest target of 115 runs, the Bangla Tigers achieved that in 15.1 overs with the opener batter Tanzid Hasan Tamim playing an unbeaten knock of 67 runs off just 42 balls. He hit seven fours and five sixes in his impressive knock. Najmul Hosain Shanto also made a quick 27 off 33 balls with the help of five boundaries. Pakistan skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi took the wicket of Saif Hassan, whereas Mohammad Wasim Jr got rid of Shanto.
Rana’s Maiden Fifer Bamboozles Pakistan
Earlier, it was all about the 23-year-old speedster Nahid Rana, who bamboozled the Pakistan batting lineup with his quick and effective bowling. He took five wickets in the match, which is also his maiden ODI fifer.
Opting to bowl first, the hosts opened the bowling attack with veteran seamer Taskin Ahmed. Pakistan’s innings started with debutants in the format, Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat. The opening duo added 41 runs before Rana got rid of Farhan in the 10th over. The highest run-scorer of the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Farhan, made 27 runs off 38 balls with the help of four boundaries in his maiden ODI match.
Another debutant, Shamyl Hussain, joined Sadaqat at the crease, and the pressure was evident on both batters. Rana used that for his use and dismissed Hussain in his next over. He made just four runs without any boundaries. He dismissed Sadaqat in the 14th over when he holed out to Saif Hassan after making 18 runs off 28 balls.
Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha could add just nine runs together before Rana got Rizwan caught behind at the score of 10 runs. Salman Agha lost his wicket in Nahid’s next over as the young pacer completed his fifer inside the team’s 18 overs.
Wickets kept falling from one end, but Faheem Ashraf kept hitting boundaries from the other end. Another debutant, Abdul Samad, lost his wicket cheaply. He couldn’t add any runs to the tally. Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi hit a boundary, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz dismissed him with an LBW.
Taskin Ahmed got rid of Mohammad Wasim Jr (0), and Mustafizur Rahman got the last wicket of Ashraf to dismiss the visitors at a paltry score of 114 runs. Ashraf added 32 runs for the 10th wicket with Abrar Ahmed, which helped Pakistan cross the 100-run mark. Miraz took three wickets, but it was Nahid Rana who dismantled the Pakistani batting lineup completely. He was named Player of the Match for his impressive bowling figures of 24/5. Now, Bangladesh will face Pakistan in the second ODI match at the same venue on Friday. (ANI)
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