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Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets in the first match of the Super Fours of Asia Cup 2023 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday (September 6). While Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first, they only managed to post 193 despite a 100-run fifth wicket partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan with both batters scoring half-centuries. The Pakistan bowlers set up this win for the Babar Azam-led side with Haris Rauf being their pick of the bowlers as he finished with figures of 4 for 19.
Naseem Shah, who suffered a bit of an injury scare during the match, picked up 3 wickets for 34 runs while the left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi scalped 1 for 42. Faheem Ashraf and Iftikhar Ahmed were the other bowlers who tasted success against Bangladesh returning with 1 for 27 and 1 for 20 respectively.
Even though Pakistan set out to chase a modest 194, they were made to work hard by the Bangladesh bowlers. In a tournament where Net Run rate could be decisive, Pakistan took 39.3 overs to get to their target but reached their target eventually with 7 wickets in the kitty. Imam-ul-Haq ended up as the top-scored for the Men in Green as he ended up with 78 off 84 deliveries. Mohammad Rizwan was also impressive and remained unbeaten on 63 off 79 balls.
For Bangladesh, Shoriful Islam provided the first breakthrough for the team as he picked 1 wicket for 24 runs. Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were the other wicket-takers for the Bangla Tigers as they finished with 1 for 32 and 1 for 51 but in the end that was not enough for them to prevent Pakistan from reaching their target. The second innings was interrupted by a floodlight failure but the match resumed after 20 minutes.
In a decision that could be debated upon, Bangladesh captain Shakib brought himself on only in the 26th over when he could have been a wicket-taker for them, given the not so good conditions for batting, something which Imam also highlighted in his post match interview. Pakistan will meet India next on September 10 in Colombo while Bangladesh will be up against Sri Lanka on September 9 at the same venue.
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