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20 overs Pakistan 135 for 7
(Hafeez 25, Kapali 2-12) v
Bangladesh
It was a tough initiation for
Pakistan on their tour as
Bangladesh played to their
strength - spin - to restrict the
tourists to 135 at the Shere
Bangla Stadium. Pakistan started
brightly after winning the toss,
but the going got tough once
the slower bowlers - five in all -
began operating at either end
on a typically dark Dhaka pitch.
The captain Mushfiqur Rahim
didn't waste any time getting
his spinners on, bringing in
Abdur Razzak as early as the
second over. Razzak began by
floating one down the leg side,
which went for five wides. It
was hardly a sign of things to
come as he and the rest applied
the brakes on the scoring and
chipped away at the wickets to
keep the packed weekday
crowd delighted.
Imran Farhat smacked two
consecutive fours off Shakib Al
Hasan before the bowler hit
back, slipping in a quicker
delivery to induce a feather
edge to the keeper. The in-form
Hafeez went on the attack and
while he was around, Pakistan
were motoring along at eight an
over.
The ninth over was significant
for Bangladesh as Shakib
managed to keep the aggressive
Hafeez quiet for five balls.
Determined to break the
shackles, Hafeez attempted a
slog and lost his wicket.
Bangladesh didn't look back
after that wicket-maiden.
Umar Akmal appeared
comfortable against the quicker
bowlers, hitting Rubel Hossain
for consecutive fours, but he
perished trying to charge Alok
Kapali. It was another blow for
Pakistan, just when another
partnership was developing,
with Misbah-ul-Haq. Kapali
sensed Umar's instinct and
cleverly dropped the ball short.
Asad Shafiq and Shahid Afridi
both perished in similar fashion,
getting caught in the deep. The
captain Misbah tried restoring
some order but he kept running
out of partners.
Despite Pakistan being restricted
to a below-par total, the chase
promises to be absorbing given
that the Pakistan spinners were
in top form against Sri Lanka in
the UAE.