Asia Cup: Pakistan pulls out the big guns against Bangladesh to get 385, ahead of Tour of England
Pakistan put on a sterling performance against Bangladesh in their final match of Asia cup, which is effectively a dead rubber. But that does not deter the fact that it was a brilliant batting performance by Pakistan in the first half of the match.
After winning the toss Captain Afridi chose to bat on a placid pitch, there were some changes in the line up Salman butt was rested and Shahzeb Hasan made it to the opening slot alongside Imran Farhat. The left right combination at the top of the order made full use of the batting friendly conditions. Aggressive by default Farhat started using the off side to his advantage and played some delightful cover drives, while also using the long handle in the power plays to good effect.
Shahzeb Hassan on the other hand who is known only for his big hits did not disappoint. Hasan who made his name in the T20 World Cup win for Pakistan in 2009, was on top of his game pulling and cutting at will, and was not afraid to lift the ball over the top on every opportunity he got. Both rushed to 50 inside 7 overs leaving nothing to chance.
The opening stand was broken in the 13th over when Shahzeb was trapped leg before while trying to sweep. He scored exactly 50 from 38 balls, including 6 smashing boundaries and 2 towering sixes. Next in was the new man Umar Amin who is believed to be one of the most stylish left-handers in Pakistani domestic cricket. He did show some promise, his flowing cuts and drives were good evidence of his reputation, but a moment of senselessness cost him his wicket. He lifted his bat after making his ground and was run out for just 22, with the help of 3 boundaries.
Next in was another new face Asad Shafiqe who scored only 17 from 19 balls with 2 fours, in an effort to go long missed one and was stranded in the middle of the pitch. Moment before Imran Farhat was also dismissed for 66 he faced 77 balls, with 6 fours and 2 sixes.
That is when Umar Akmal and Captain Shahid Afridi came together to put on 127 for the 4th wicket, before Umar was dismissed for a well made 50 from 57 balls, which included 4 boundaries. Shahid Afridi was in supreme form. Carrying on his good work from first 2 games, he went on to break the record of Sri Lanka Sanath Jaysuriya for the most number of sixes in one day cricket, and got to a total of 271 sixes in total. And also completed a brilliant century with 17 fours and 4 sixes on the day, in total he scored 124 form 60 balls, with a strike rate of 206.
After Umar was dismissed, his brother Kamran came in and continued the good work. After Afridi dismissal, big hitting Abdur Razzaq also played a chameo scoring 21 from 9 balls with 2 sixes and a four.
Pakistan ended their innings at 385 for the loss of 7 wickets in the allotted 50 overs. The target looks to be near impossible for Bangladesh to chase and a comfortable victory looks certain for Pakistan. Even though, they are out of the tournament this can be a big morale booster ahead of the long England tour.
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