Mushfiq, Mithun spur Bangladesh’s post 239 /10
Dhaka, Sept 26 – Bangladesh recorded a glorious win against Pakistan and qualified for the Asia Cup Cricket on Wednesday night by a margin of 37 runs.Bangladesh dismissed three top-order batsmen of Pakistan within 3.3 overs conceding just 18 runs after posting 239/10 in a virtual semi-final of the 14th Asia Cup at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. in Reply Pakistan scored 202 runs for 9 wickets in 50 overs
Mehidy Hasan Miraz brought the first breakthrough for Bangladesh in his 5th ball of the innings very 1st over as dismissing opener Fakhar Zaman, who was caught by Rubel Hossain at Pakistan’s collection of 2 runs.
Then the cutter-master Mustafizur Rahman got two quick wickets Babar Azam and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed within a span of 15 runs.
Mustafiz trapped lbw Babar Azam on 3/2 in 1.2 overs while Sarfraz Ahmed was caught behind by Mushfiqur Rahim on 18/3 in 3.3 overs.
Shoaib Malik [4* off 11b] and Imam-ul-Haq [6* off 17b] were on batting in the 4th wicket partnership when Pakistan collection was at 25/3 * in 7 overs. Pakistan were 202/9 in stipulated 50 overs conceding a 37-run victory to tigers.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun once again salvaged the Bangladesh innings from a perilous spot, helping the Tigers recover and also go on to post a potentially winning total, despite failing to bat their full complement of overs.
Mushfiq and Mithun’s 4th wicket partnership of 144 runs off 29.2 overs dominated the Bangladesh innings and completed the turnaround from 12/3.
Opting to bat first, Bangladesh will be disappointed to have batted just 48.5 overs for their collection.
Mushfiq meanwhile will be disappointed at missing out on a 7th ODI century by a whisker, outplaying a tired shot on 99 that featured nine boundaries off 116 balls.
Mithun completed his second ODI half-century – both in the ongoing Asia Cup and both with Mushfiq partnering him at the other end. Eventually, he was out for 60 off 84 balls, including four boundaries.
Mithun was removed from the 4th partnership on 156/4 in 33.4 overs as he was caught and bowled by Hasan Ali.
Mushfiq was caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed off Shaheen Shah Afridi when scoreboard showing for Bangladesh at 197/6 in 41.4 overs.
Mushfiq and Mithun came together after Liton Kumar Das’s dismissal on 12/3 in 4.2 overs, which was a big blow after opening batsman Soumya Sarkar and Mominul Haque’s dismissals on 5/1 in 2.5 overs and on 12/2 in 3.5 overs respectively.
Mahmudullah Riyad [25 off 31b; 1×4], skipper Mashrafe Mortaza [13 off 13b; 1×6] and Mehidy Hasan Miraz [12 off 11b; 1×4] were other double-digit scorers for Bangladesh.
Left-handed pacer Junaid Khan captured four wickets for 19 runs while Shaheen Shah Afridi [2/47] and Hasan Ali [2/60] and Shadab Khan [1/52] shared five wickets for Pakistan.
However, both Mushfiq and Mithun played heroic roles for Bangladesh’s victory of 137 runs against Sri Lanka in the tournament opener where diminutive Mushfiq hit his ODI best 144 and Mithun completed his maiden ODI half-century alongside they shared a partnership of 131 off 23.3 overs in the 3rd wicket. – UNB and News Desk
