Pakistan v Bangladesh, T20 World Cup 2022: Talking Points

Pakistan faced Bangladesh in a virtual quarter-final in the 41st match of the ICC T20 World Cup, here are some of the crucial moments of the game.

Bangladesh got off to a good start

Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Litton Das too them off to a good start, they creamed a few boundaries but Litton was dismissed Shaheen Shah Afridi’s brilliance. Soumya Sarkar arrived at one down and glued a partnership of 52 runs for the 2nd wicket. They ticked the scorecard with excellent running between the wickets and occasional boundaries. Shadab Khan broke the partnership and removed Shakib Al Hasan for a golden duck in the next ball as well. Though the decision was a controversial one and a bit unfair towards Shakib, Bangladesh was put on the back foot.

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Shaheen Afridi wreaks havoc in the death overs

Shaheen returned back in the 16th over and dismantled the lower order of Bangladesh with some fantastic yorkers. Bangladesh batters struggled against Shaheen Afridi, who finished with the figures of 4-0-22-4. Shadab Khan picked a couple of wickets, and Iftikhar Ahmed and Haris Rauf scalped a wicket each.

Rizwan and Babar with a solid start

Chasing a semi-final spot, Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam gave the team a cautious yet solid start as they added 57 runs in 10.3 overs. The pair were milking singles and punishing the bad balls away. Bangladesh was poor in the field today, An easy catch of Rizwan was dropped by the keeper in the very first over of the game. Nasum Ahmed was reintroduced into the attack and dismissed Babar and Rizwan was taken care of by Ebadot Hossain in the very next over.

Mohammad Haris’ counterattack

Pakistan looked in a spot of bother but Mohammad Haris came out with positive intent and was aggressive right from ball one, he played a blinder and took the team closer to the victory line but failed to finish the game. Shan Masood and Shadab Khan got the runs they needed by nudging the ball around to complete the victory by 5 wickets. With this win, Pakistan books its spot in the Semi-Finals.