Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq was a relieved man after his team pulled of a 58-run win in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) to sweep the series against Bangladesh 3-0.
The win, however, came after testing circumstances with Pakistan on the back foot before a 20-minute interruption when Bangladesh were well-placed at 69 for one in the 20th over chasing 178. The hosts lost five wickets for 14 runs after the break and were all out for 119 with Misbah crediting the team’s resilience for the comeback, but also singling out batting as an area of improvement.
“This was a tough game,” said Misbah. “But when there’s self-belief you manage to get through. Bangladesh had lost only one wicket when the lights went out and we were feeling a bit low.
“But our coaches assured us the game was not over and one more wicket would bring us back. That is what happened.”
While the bowlers earned Pakistan their 28th win in 29 ODIs against Bangladesh, batting let the team down with only Umar Akmal, Younus Khan and Misbah reaching double figures.
Misbah was aware of the batting woes that also plagued Pakistan in the first ODI. “Our bowlers did really well but we need to improve our batting.”
Spinners the key
Mohammad Hafeez, opening the bowling, finished with three for 27 and Shoaib Malik – playing his 200th ODI – claimed three wickets as well as spinners claimed 19 of the 20 wickets to fall in the match.
Meanwhile, Misbah also praised the Bangladesh bowlers and said batting let the home side down.
“They are struggling in the batting department, especially on a pitch like this it is difficult for batsmen if they are short of confidence,” said Misbah.
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim echoed Misbah’s views.
“Our bowlers did well throughout the series but our batsmen let us down,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll overcome this loss and perform better in the Test matches.”
Stone thrown at umpires’ car
A car that was carrying Enamul Haque and Johan Cloete, the on-field umpires in the final ODI, was hit by a stone.
This is the second incident to occur in Chittagong after the West Indies team bus was pelted with stones following Bangladesh being bowled out for 58 and losing by nine wickets in Mirpur during the World Cup this year.
Ashraful recalled
Bangladesh have recalled batsman Mohammad Ashraful for the Test series against Pakistan. Ashraful, with 2,418 runs in 56 Tests, was axed for the home Tests against the West Indies and the ODIs against Pakistan. Mohammad Mahmudullah, seamer Robiul Islam and Mohammed Nazimuddin were also named in the 15-man squad.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2011.
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