Pakistan start Bangladesh tour with warm-up loss

BCB XI hunt down 269-run target with a wicket to spare

KARACHI: A blistering 123 by Sabbir Rahman helped Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) XI defeat Pakistan by one wicket in the one-off warm-up game before the ODI series. Both teams used their entire 15 member squads in the unofficial game.

Batting first at Fatullah, Pakistan squandered a fine start by opener Muhammad Hafeez (85 off 79) and after a middle-order slump, owed their recovery to Fawad Alam, who remained unbeaten with a 58-ball 67 knock.

Other than Hafeez and Fawad, no other batsman looked comfortable against the hosts’ bowling attack. Captain Azhar Ali laboured to a 49-ball 27 while Haris Sohail scored 23 off 29 deliveries.

Shuvagata Hom was the best bowler for the BCB XI snaring three wickets for 39 runs in his seven-over spell.

The BCB XI were rocked early in their reply, losing the first four wickets with only 81 on board in the 19^th over of the innings.

Rahman turned the game on its head with an audacious attack against a strong Pakistan bowling attack. After completing a superb hundred, the batsman perished in the 39^th over of the innings.

Junaid Khan’s impressive bowling spell towards the backend of the BCB XI innings brought the visitors back in the hunt. Junaid, making a recovery in the Pakistan ODI team after missing out on the World Cup due to a leg injury, returned figures of 4-38 in 9.5 overs.

Sohag Gazi played the role of a finisher almost perfectly for the hosts before departing with his team 10 runs short of the target. The last-wicket pair of Mohammad Shahid and Taijul Islam then took their team past Pakistan’s score with a ball to spare.

Besides Junaid, Rahat Ali snapped up two wickets but conceded 54 runs in his nine-over burst. Saeed Ajmal, making a comeback to the squad after clearing his bowling action, took one wicket in his eight-over spell, conceding 45 runs.

The first of the three-match ODI series takes place on Friday in Mirpur.

 

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