Alesha Holding T20 I Series: Pakistan VS Bangladesh
Second Match Played at SBNCS, Dhaka on 21 November 2021
Pakistan 109/2 in 18.1 Overs (Fakhar Zaman 57*, Mohammad Rizwan 39, Mustafizur Rahman 1/12, Aminul Islam 1/30)
Bangladesh 108/7 (Nazmul Hossain Shanto 40, Afif Hossain 20, Mahmudullah 12, Nurul Hasan 11, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2/15, Shadab Khan 2/22, Mohammad Nawaz 1/9, Harris Rauf 1/13)
Pakistan Won the Match by 8 Wickets
Player Of The Match: Fakhar Zaman
Pakistan had useful batting practice in the second T20 in cruising across a well below par 108/7 score that sad looking Bangladesh managed yesterday at the second T20I played at SBNCS.
Winning back-to-back matches Pakistan wrapped up the 3 matches series 2-0. The third match on Sunday would be a mere formality. Bangladesh could stretch Pakistan a bit in the first match. But yesterday it was all to easy. Spineless Bangladesh batting produced very little or no resistance at all. Bangladesh also fielded poorly dropping few catches and looking pretty ordinary in the field. Moreover, Mustafiz and Shoriful getting injured compounded issues.
Mahmudullah winning the toss again opted to bat and again the top order failed miserably. Saif and Naim had no clues how to deal with moving white ball on a good wicket. Afif (20) and Shanto (40) were looking good. But they were not good enough to carry the team to safety. Both fell to ordinary strokes after creating some hopes among cheering fans. Both fell to leg spinner Shadab Khan playing unnecessary strokes. Babar tutored a lesson or two to Bangladeshi think tank in unleashing leg spinner against left-handed batsmen. Bangladesh has weird thoughts in planning process and hardly thinks out of the box.
However, due to some good stroke play Bangladesh managed 61 runs in the first 10 overs. The openers failed to deliver, the middle and late order did way to little. 108/7 against a power packed Pakistan batting line up was even barely enough. Shaheen Shah Afridi (2/15), Shadab Khan (2/22,) Mohammad Nawaz (1/9) and Harris Rauf (1/13) were not challenged at all. Still, it was of some comfort that youngsters Shanto and Afif played some delightful strokes. Exposing Saif Hasan in unfamiliar role has not done justice to his morale. Neither Naim did anything of note proving anything better than Liton or Soumyo.
Pakistan had no issues chasing the soft target. Off course Mustafiz created a little sensation having prolific Babar Azam played on early. For the second match in succession Pakistan captain failed to carry his reputation. However, Fakhar Zaman and Rizwan playing with patience ensured that they make it plain and simple. The second wicket partnership producing 85 runs eased the tourists to victory. Another series white wash looks inevitable. Bangladesh proved no match for strong Pakistan.
We are not sure what can be the explanations of the Bangladesh management for presenting such a weak team to challenge strong Pakistan team? Why the made Bangladesh players Lambs For Sacrifice. The batting was really thin. Bowlers can do very little unless Batsmen can give them a reasonable score to defend. Moreover, fielding was also poor yesterday. With T20 series already lost what signal Bangladesh got for the test series even? Minhazul Abedin and Co as well as Khaled Mahmud Sujon owe an explanation.
BDST: 1217 HRS, NOV 21, 2021
SMS
