A five-wicket haul from Mohammad Irfan, followed by an unbeaten 93 from Sohaib Maqsood, overshadowed Bangladesh’s efforts as Pakistan edged the Tigers by three wickets in their official World Cup warm-up game in Sydney yesterday.
With 15 players on each side, a warm-up win would have certainly elevated Bangladesh and the batting unit should carry the blame of failure as apart from Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah none other showed signs of tackling the Pakistani pace attack who shared seven wickets.
However, Tamim’s contribution of 81 runs should be a huge relief for the Tigers think tank as it was the dashing south paw’s first outing in the middle after he recovered from an operated knee recently. Meanwhile,
Bangladesh, opting to bat, lost two early wickets, but Tamim and Mahmudullah counterattacked, adding 168 for the third wicket. Tamim stroked five fours during his 81, as did Mahmudullah during his 83. The pair took Bangladesh close to the 200-run mark, but Mahmudullah was run out in the 40th over, triggering a collapse that led to the team losing its last eight wickets for just 62 runs.
Apart from Shakib al Hasan, who chipped in with 31, none of Bangladesh’s last seven batsmen could make more than 15. Irfan collected 5 for 52, including three scalps in the final over, to wipe out the tail and dismiss Bangladesh for 246.
Pakistan’s openers departed early in the chase, leaving the team precariously placed at 8 for 2, but their middle order led a recovery.
Haris Sohail (39) first put up a 51-run partnership with Younis Khan (25), after which Maqsood took charge. With the asking rate rising, Maqsood and Umar Akmal eased the pressure by adding 63 for the fifth wicket.
Bangladesh fought back with two quick wickets, but Shahid Afridi muscled three crucial fours to race to 24 off 20 balls, before he was dismissed by Shakib.
It left Pakistan needing just seven more runs from three overs, and Maqsood, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 90-ball knock, helped overhaul the target in 48.1 overs
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