New Delhi: Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets in the first T20I at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Sunday, July 20. The hosts take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. The visitors struggled with the bat and only managed to score 109/10 in 19.3 overs. Parvez Hossain Emon and Towhid Hridoy’s knock helped Bangladesh chase down the target in 15.3 overs.
Bangladesh opted to bowl first and made good use of the conditions by taking wickets at regular intervals. The hosts created pressure with dot balls, and Pakistani batters threw away their wickets while trying to hit boundaries.
There were also three run-outs in the match, which made it much worse for the visitors. Fakhar Zaman was the only batter who played well and scored 44 runs, but his knock was cut short by a needless run-out in the 12th over.
Abbas Afridi smashed three maximums in the death overs, which helped the visitors to surpass the 100-mark. The slower balls are gripping in the surface as Pakistan bowled out for 109 runs. Taskin Ahmed picked up three wickets while Mustafizur took two wickets.
Emon, Hridoy shine with the bat
Bangladesh got off to a poor start as Salman Mirza removed Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das cheaply in consecutive overs. But Parvez Hossain Emon and Towhid Hridoy batted well to put the pressure back on the visitors.
Their counter-attacking partnership made the chase easier, and Emon remained unbeaten to seal the game for the hosts. They forged a 73-run partnership for the third wicket. Abbas Afridi removed Jaker Ali on 36 runs, but the hosts chased down the target in 15.3 overs.
The visitors were rusty in the field, and keeper Mohammad Haris had a poor day behind the stumps as he dropped two simple catches. Bangladesh will look to seal the series in the second T20I, which will be played at the same venue on July 22.