Pakistan’s lower-order batting came to their rescue against Bangladesh in the first of three T20Is in Dhaka on November 19. The tourists won a low-scoring thriller by four wickets, chasing down hosts’ 127/7 with four balls to spare despite being 24/4 at one stage.
Once again, it was evident how much Pakistan depends on the solidity that their skipper Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan provides them at the top. Once the duo departed for scores of just 7 and 11, respectively, the Pakistan batting line-up felt the heat.
On another excessively dry, spin-friendly track at the Shere Bangla, chasing anything near 6.5 an over was going to be a challenge, and once Babar and Rizwan failed to provide a platform for the innings, the tourists looked under pressure as they then lost Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik for ducks.
Thankfully for Pakistan, watchful thirties from Fakhar Zaman (34) and Khushdil Shah (34) kept them afloat when Bangladesh could’ve easily taken the game away. Their innings included timely boundaries, which made sure that the asking rate never climbed out of reach.
Once Fakhar and Shah were dismissed, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz took control of things. Rather than letting the pressure of the situation get to them, they put it back on Bangladeshi bowlers. Shadab blasted a 10-ball 21* while Nawaz, known more for his bowling, struck 18* off just 8 balls to take Pakistan home.
Taskin Ahmed took 2 wickets, but in giving away 31 runs off his 4 overs, he was quite expensive in the context of the game and the conditions. Mahedi Hasan (1/17) bowled a tight spell, as did Mustafizur Rahman (1/26). Bangladesh batters needed to give them about 10-15 runs more on the day and a victory might have been theirs.
Only two of them reached a thirty-run mark in the first half, with Afif Hossain top-scoring with a 36 and Mahedi scoring an unbeaten 20-ball 30 towards the end. Hasan Ali (3/22) and Mohammad Wasim Jr (2/24) were amongst the wickets for Pakistan.
Brief scores
Bangladesh 127/7 in 20 overs (Afif Hossain 36, Mahedi Hasan 30; Hasan Ali 3/22) lost to Pakistan 132/6 in 19.2 overs (Fakhar Zaman 34, Khushdil Shah 34; Taskin Ahmed 2/31) by 4 wickets
