BAN vs PAK | Bangladesh avoid Faheem scare to clinch maiden T20I series win against Pakistan

Gantavya Adukia

ByGantavya Adukia,SportsCafe Editor

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Bangladesh finally managed to banish the Pakistan hoodoo in Mirpur on Tuesday to register their first-ever series win over Pakistan with a thrilling eight-run triumph. The Tigers had the visitors reeling at 15/5 chasing 134 before Faheem Ashraf's explosive half-century added jeopardy to proceedings.

‌Asked to bat first, Bangladesh's change up top failed quite quicky when Mohammad Naim, replacing Tanzid Hasan, nicked behind after just a seven-ball stay for three runs. With the new ball nipping around, Faheem Ashraf and Salman Mirza maintained tidy lines and lengths to keep the Tigers quiet in the powerplay, despite Parvez Hossain Emon threatening to break the shackles with an 11-run fourth over. The telling blows came immediately after when Mirza dispatched Litton Das for cheap before Towhid Hridoy was run-out three deliveries later for a duck, and debutant Ahmed Daniyal tripled the misery with Parvez' wicket on the penultimate ball of the powerplay to leave the visitors reeling at 29/4. Nevertheless, Jaker Ali and Mahedi Hasan took their time to steady the innings, even as next three overs went for just 12, before the latter upped the tempo with a six and four off Khushdil Shah at the halfway stage. Slowly but surely, the duo brought up the 50-run mark in the partnership at better than run-a-ball, only for Mahedi to hole out off Mohammad Nawaz the very next ball. With six overs remaining, the Tigers sat at a paltry 81/5, and once Shamim Hossain failed to add much value the responsibility fell solely on Jaker to rescue the hosts. The finisher responded with four sixes in as many overs, with Rishad Hossain also contributing one at the other end, to help Pakistan set a competitive 134 to win.

The chase began on an ominous note when Saim Ayub was run-out in the first over itself, followed by an inswinging ripper by Shoriful Islam three balls later to send Mohammad Haris packing for a golden duck. The left-arm quick then added Fakhar Zaman to his tally in his next over and when Tanzim Hasan removed namesakes Hasan and Mohammad Nawaz on successive deliveries, hope looked all but lost at 15/5. Khushdil Shah and Salman Agha Ali tried to recuperate some momentum by slowly building towards a stand but the skipper's first attempt to explode into life ended with Hridoy pocketing a sitter, ending a turgid 23-ball stay for just nine runs. At the 10-over mark, the score thus read 32/6, a 102 away from victory still. Faheem Ashraf injected some momentum with a six and four in the 12th over, only for Khushdil to immediately play spoilsport by departing for a 18-ball 13. Yet, when the match looked practically over, Abbas Afridi struck two fours in the 14th over before combining with Ashraf for 20 runs in the 15th over. By the time Shoriful sounded Afridi the death rattle, the equation had come down to 46 off 23, which further whittled down to 18 in the last two overs. Daniyal further added spice to proceedings with two fours in three deliveries and when Faheem struck Rishad for a maximum on the penultimate ball of the 19th over, the Men in Green felt like the favourites in the game for the first time in the match. However, Rishad instantly crushed all hopes with a vicious spinner to decimate Faheem's middle-stump and while Daniyal tried to keep hopes alive with a four first-up in the 20th, Mustafizur sealed the historic win with four balls to spare. 

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