AI Simulation, BAN vs PAK | Pakistan succumb to Rishad-Mustafizur magic in Mirpur as Bangladesh defend 158

Today at 6:28 PM

Salman Agha Ali's Pakistan had whitewashed Litton Das' Bangladesh 3-0 when the two sides met earlier this year

As per Chat GPT, Bangladesh will put up a monumental defence at a tricky Shere Bangla National Stadium deck in Mirpur to keep Pakistan 14 runs short of their 158-run total in the first of three T20Is. Rishad Hossain will lead the way with three scalps while Mustafizur Rahman excelled at the death.

Pitch and Weather

The surface in Mirpur was dry but skiddy, with the brand new Kookaburra zipping off the surface, but slowed down as the day progressed and offered the spinners a grip on proceedings. The weather was humid with some dew forecast in the second half of the match despite the early 6:30 PM start.

Toss

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first, keeping in mind the dew factor.

Lineups

Bangladesh: Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das (c/wk), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Khushdil Shah, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Abbas Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed

Match Report

Asked to bat first, Bangladesh opener Parvez Hossain Emon never looked comfortable against the swinging new ball and eventually fell victim to Faheem Ashraf after a 10-ball stay. However, Tanzid Hasan had no such qualms as he got stuck in immediately after, combining with Litton Das to go on a boundary spree and take the powerplay score to 48/1. The duo added 56 runs for the second wicket before Salman Mirza introduced himself to the international scene by scalping both in the same over, before Abrar Ahmed sounded Shamim Hossain the death rattle as the hosts suddenly found themselves reeling at 78/4 after 12. Nevertheless, Towhid Hridoy maintained his calm at one end and anchored the innings along with a 28-ball knock of 41, laced with five boundaries and a maximum. The middle-order batter survived till the penultimate over, even as wickets kept falling at the other end, to ensure his team got to a competitive 158/8.

In response, Shoriful Islam produced a ripper early on to kiss the top of Sahibzada Farhan's off-stump but Saim Ayub and Mohammad Haris remained unfettered as they played their natural game. The duo traded sixes in consecutive overs amidst a streak of fours, and saw the team through to the end of the powerplay at 53/1. Litton responded by introducing Rishad Hossain into the attack and the spinner instantly made his presence felt, conceding just two runs in his opening effort before capitalizing on the pressure to send both set batters packing in the space of three deliveries. The scalps of Hasan Nawaz and skipper Salman Agha Ali at the other end added to the visitors' woes as the score read 75/5 at the halfway-stage, the required run rate a challenging 8.40. Khushdil Shah tried to spark a comeback with two fours and as many maximums in a fluent 16-ball 26 but Rishad delivered another decisive blow in his final over to practically hand Bangladesh the game. With 30 required in three there was still a practical chance but with no specialist batters surviving, the match tapered out sedately as the Tigers clinched a famous 14-run win -- just their fourth over Pakistan in T20Is.

Player of the Match

Rishad Hossain won the man of the match award for bamboozling Pakistan with his wily legspin bowling to scalp three wickets while conceding just 19 runs in his four overs, including twin blows in the middle of the chase to turn the game on its head.