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Bangladesh put up incredible resistance, eliminate top order to push Pakistan in first T20I

Gritty Bangladesh led by some superb bowling from the pace unit fought back into the first T20I after putting up a below par total in the first innings of the game. Defending 128 runs in a lively pitch at Dhaka, the Tigers pace duo of Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed put up a spirited performance to send back the dangerous opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. While Rizwan (11 off 11) got his stumps rattled by a screamer from Mustafizur Rahman, Babar (7 off 10) dragged an inside edge back into the stumps while trying to guide a fuller length ball to third man. If that wasn’t enough, Mahedi Hasan, the first change introduced into the bowling attack, caught Haider Ali plumb in front of the stumps in the fifth over reducing Pakistan to 23-3. The final over of the powerplay resulted in a freak wicket as well, with Shoaib Malik getting run out in a lazy effort to plant his bat. Keeper Nurul Hasan’s presence of mind made sure that his accurate throw caught the veteran Pakistan international off guard and dislodge the stumps just in time before he could put his bat down. The pitch once again played a big part in the powerplay with the pacers extracting good bounce and movement of the pitch, something that has not been seen in the recent past in Bangladeshi pitches. At the time of writing, Pakistan were batting at 32-4 after 8 overs. Fakhar Zaman was batting at 9 off 16 balls with Khushdil Shah on the other end at 2 off 5.

Nurul & Mahedi Hasan's resistance helps Bangladesh scramble to a fighting total

Late uprising of Nurul and Mahedi Hasan helped Bangladesh reach a total of 127 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their registered 20 overs. The score can and should be considered decent after the Pakistan pacers ran riot through the Bangladeshi batting line-up in the first six overs, reducing them for 25 runs off three wickets. With the top order back in the hut, left-hander Afif Hossain started the rebuild for the Bangla Tigers scoring 36 off 34 balls. Despite the initial struggle, Afif took on spinner Mohammad Nawaz in the 11th over and tried to break the shackles. After Afif got out to a Shadab Khan googly, Nurul and Mahedi took it upon themselves to score some late runs at a rapid rate. The duo put up 35 runs off 24 balls. While Nurul scored 28 off 22 balls before edging one back to keeper Mohammad Rizwan, Mahedi remained not out for 30 runs off 20 balls.

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1st T20I | Pakistan pacers rattle Bangladesh top order early in the game

The Pakistan pace attack led by Hasan Ali troubled the Bangladesh top order in the early overs of the 1st T20I being played at Dhaka on Friday, November 19. The Bangladesh opening batters in Mohammad Naim Sheikh and Saif Hasan had no answers to the swing and bounce extracted by the Pakistan pacers and were back in the hut by the third over of the game. Hasan Ali looked in good touch after his below-average World Cup outing and bowled true to his nature, moving the ball at a nippy pace. His partner, 20-year-old Mohammad Wasim Jr, playing only his 5th T20I bowled brilliantly in tandem with his senior partner and scalped two wickets for himself inside the powerplay. Bangladesh batsmen found it difficult to get away in the initial overs but changed their strategy from the fourth over of the match. Their counterattacking ploy did not come off for the home side as they lost their third wicket inside the fifth over of the game. At the time of writing, Bangladesh were 25 runs for the loss of three wickets after the powerplay on a pitch that looked much livelier than the ones that have been offered by the BCB in the recent past. Click here for a detailed commentary of the game.