Hasan Ali bags five as Pakistan blow Bangladesh away in first T20I
Shadab Khan puts in a strong all-round show as Bangladesh fall for 164 in pursuit of 202 in the first T20I in Lahore
Shadab Khan puts in a strong all-round show as Bangladesh fall for 164 in pursuit of 202 in the first T20I in Lahore
Commentator: Rashad Mahbub
This concludes the action from today's match. Pakistan leads the three-match series 1-0. Thank you for tuning in. See you on May 30th for the second match. Until then, take care and goodnight.
Pakistan Captain, Salman Agha: "After like 5-2, it was an amazing innings. And I think everyone chipped in, and everyone came and played with the intent. That's what we want from them. This is what we want. We want a team performance like that. We batted well, bowled well, and fielded well, and everyone chipped in. We don't want people to score 80-90; if they do that, then that's amazing. But if they don't do that, we want people to come and take the game on, whether we are batting, bowling, or fielding. I think everyone is saying that 2017 Hassan Ali is back. And well, he's well and truly back. And the way he worked, I have seen him working hard. He was coming every day for two times, and then in Ramadan, he was coming and would stay there, break Fast, and then stay there, like till 11-12. It's truly hard work. Today it's paid off. And the way he bowled in PSL, and the way he bowled today, I'm so happy for him. He's well and truly back. I think it's just a luxury I have. I do want eight batters and six bowling options, I didn't bowl Saim yet, and I think he's a good enough bowler to bowl four overs. We have seen him bowling in PSL, but it's something like a luxury to have. And I do want us to have eight batters, eight batting options, and six proper bowling options. We will try to take rest tomorrow, and then we will come the day after tomorrow, like the way we did today we will do, probably try to do better."
Bangladesh captain, Litton Das: "All over the game, we didn't bowl well, bat well and field well. I'm not saying anything about... But we have to come back strongly. We have two games still. Not only bowling and batting, but you have to field well. In the first game, you have to field well. We didn't field well at the moment. 200 is chaseable on this ground, because the ground is so fast, and the wicket was pretty good to bat on. We don't bat well in the middle as well. We have to come back strongly. Jaker Ali, last one one year, he played really well. He's the key player at the moment. But one player can't win the game. We have to contribute from everyone. I mean, not in practice. Mentally, we have to think. I feel that cricket is not about practice, it is to grab, to think about cricket, and apply in the middle."
Player of the Match, Shadab Khan
11:20 pm And so, the Mike Hesson era begins with a win, quite a statement indeed! Bangladesh never really looked comfortable chasing down that mammoth target of 202. Despite Tanzid Tamim opening their account with a massive six over square leg, giving Bangladesh exactly the start they wanted, Parvez Hosain Emon departed early in the second over. Tanzid Tamim continued to look in good touch, smashing two consecutive sixes off Abrar's first over. However, a slower delivery from Hasan Ali deceived him, and he was clean bowled. Litton Das was striking hard and looked good, but his partner, Towhid Hridoy, was only striking the ball at 77, putting pressure on the skipper, who fell for 48 runs off 30 balls. Both batters fell quickly as the dot balls piled up. The target just proved too much for Bangladesh. They struggled to rotate the strike and find those big shots in the middle overs. Bangladesh's batting woes in the shorter format continued as their middle order failed to fire today. Jaker Ali was once again the lone warrior, scoring a quick 36 runs off 21 balls. But not every day Jaker Ali will manage to get Bangladesh over the line, and this wasn't his night either. Pakistan, on the other hand, were brilliant in the fielding department, especially inside the circle, saving a lot of runs. And what a comeback it was for Hasan Ali after a year away! He picked up a fifer, his best figures in T20I cricket and his first-ever fifer in this format. Shadab Khan chipped in with two wickets, while Khushdil, Salman, and Faheem bagged one each. Post Match Presentation coming up.
Imran Kidwai: "Great to see vintage Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan stepping up as key contributors in this win. A much-needed performance from both!"
Pakistan won by 37 runs
Shoriful Islam c Shadab Khan b Hasan Ali 5 (3b 1x4 0x6) SR: 166.66
Mid-off goes out of the circle
Hasan Ali to bowl the last over, searching for his first fifer in T20I
Mahedi Hasan c Hasan Nawaz b Faheem Ashraf 2 (3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 66.66
Shadab Khan puts in a strong all-round show as Bangladesh fall for 164 in pursuit of 202 in the first T20I in Lahore
Out-of-form sides look to turn the corner in this series