Sports Desk, July 20: Bangladesh made a promising start to the three-match T20 International series against Pakistan by sealing a seven-wicket win in the first T20I at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 111 runs to win, Bangladesh made a shaky start as opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim (1) and skipper Litton Das (1) went back to the pavilion within the first three overs, with just seven runs on the board.
However, the other opener, Parvez Hossain Emon, and number four batter Towhid Hridoy halted the slide for the Tigers and counter-attacked with controlled aggression and a steady scoring rate.
The pair added 73 runs for the third wicket, which gave Bangladesh control in their chase.
Hridoy played a valuable innings of 37 runs before being bowled in the 13th over.
But Emon remained solid at the other end. The opener was unbeaten on 56 off just 39 deliveries, smashing five sixes and three boundaries in his brilliant innings to ensure Bangladesh reached their target with 27 balls to spare.
Earlier, Bangladesh captain Litton Das won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Pakistan’s top-order batters tried to attack and score quickly from the start, but the Tigers’ bowlers held their nerve and took four wickets during the powerplay, which dented Pakistan’s progress.
Pakistan couldn’t recover from the early damage and were eventually bowled out for a below-par 110 in 19.3 overs.
Fakhar Zaman was the top scorer for Pakistan with 44 off 34 balls after benefiting from two reprieves, although he was also involved in two run-outs.
Abbas Afridi added 24 runs in the late middle order to help Pakistan cross the 100-run mark, but their total proved insufficient in the end.
It was a collective effort from the Bangladesh bowlers to restrict Pakistan to just 110.
Taskin Ahmed took three wickets for Bangladesh, conceding 22 runs, while Mahedi Hasan and Tanzim Hasan Sakib claimed one wicket each.
However, the standout performer with the ball was Mustafizur Rahman. The left-armer was exceptional, conceding just six runs from his four overs and taking two important wickets.
The second T20 match of the series will be played on Tuesday at the same venue.