Bangladesh-Pakistan 1st T20 International Played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on 24 January 2019 
Brief Score card :
Pakistan 142/5 in 19.3 Overs ( Shoaib Malik 58*, Ahsan Ali 36, Shafiul Islam 2/27, Al Amin Hossain 1/18, Aminul Islam 1/28 and Mustafiz ¼)) beat Bangladesh 141/5 in 20 0vers ( Naim Sheikh 43, Tamim Iqbal 39, Mahmudullah 19*, Shahin Shah Afridi 1/23, Shadab Khan 1/26, Haris Rauf 1/32 ) by 5 wickets .
Player of the Match: Shoaib Malik 

Pakistan beat Bangladesh in the fisrt of three matches T20 series played at Gaddafii Lahore by 5 wickets in an evenly contested match. On a sluggish wicket where ball was stopping after only few overs Bangladesh made rollicking start racing to 71/0 by 11thover , some atrocious running between the wicket and failure to exploit the early advantage led Pakistan restricting them to 141/5 in allotted overs. Good bowling and fielding created challenges for Pakistan but experience of veteran Shoiab Malik saw them through reaching 142/5 with 3 balls to spare. 

Winning the toss and electing to bat Bangladesh openers veteran Tamim Iqbal and rookie Naim Sheikh were going great playing with utmost ease. The pair were matching stroke for stroke against strong Pakistan attack of fearsome pace and quality spin. 71 runs were scored without major concern when a misunderstanding caused Tamim loose his wicket when he started his wide array of strokes. Liton joining Naim tried to keep the momentum going till he also got run out from a direct throw of Shadab Khan. Bangladesh innings lost momentum trying to expedite scoring holed out of the bowling of Shadab. From 71/0 score soon became 3/98.in the 15th over. By the time ball got soft and on the sluggish wicket it became extremely challenging for new batsman coming at the wicket to just tee off.  Bangladesh could manage to reach 141/5 when the quota over exhausted.   It appeared that the aggregate was at least 20 runs less. Naim scored 43 and Tamim 39. Mahmuduallh remained unbeaten on 19. Pakistani bowlers bowled well but not that difficult for Bangladesh not scoring at least 160-165. Middle order did not have the fire power.

Shafiul Islam rocked Pakistan removing the best Pakistani batsman captain Babar Azam before he could open his account in the very second ball. Rokkie Ahasan Ali batted with guts and determination. Mustafiz struggled a bit adjusting his bearing .He managed to remove Hafis. But a 46 runs 3rd wicket partnership between veteran Shaob Malik and RokkieAhsan Ali set the foundation for Pakistan before Ahsan Ali was picked up by leg spinner Aminul. Pacers Shafiul and Al Amin could cause further damage taking wickets of Iftekhar and Imad Wasim. But Shoiab remained firm taking his team across the rope with only 3 balls to spare. Champion batsman looked calm and composed like a seasoned professional. His unbeaten 58 runs of 45 deliveries earned him player of the match as Pakistan won the match by 5 wickets. Bangladesh head coach must have seen what caused two run outs at top order. Batsmen set at the wicket must continue. At least onre top order must try at bat through out the innings.

The second match of the series will be played at the same venue today. Considering the state of the wicket it appears that Bangladesh need Soumya Sarkar batting at three as he can not adjust his game against softer balls coming late at the bat. Liton with Mahmudullah would be more effective at four and five.

BDST: 1246 HRS, JAN 25, 2020
SMS