Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets in 2nd T20 match

Dhaka: Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman struck an unbeaten half-century as his side made light work of beating Bangladesh by eight wickets in their second T20I in Dhaka on Saturday, taking an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

Fakhar hit 57 off 51 balls and put on 85 runs with Mohammad Rizwan (39) for the second wicket, guiding Pakistan to 109-2 in 18.1 overs.

Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan earlier claimed two wickets each to help the visitors restrict struggling Bangladesh to 108-7 after the home side opted to bat first.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam fell for just one in the third over, dragging a Mustafizur Rahman delivery onto his stumps.

But Fakhar — who smashed two fours and three sixes but was dropped by Saif Hassan on 26 — and Rizwan denied Bangladesh further momentum with their calm approach.

Aminul finally dismissed Rizwan as Saif took the catch at extra cover, but it came too late as Fakhar soon sealed the contest and the series with a single through cover off part-timer Saif.

"The series win is a team effort," said Babar. "The boys responded well as a unit and we carried forward the momentum" from the World Cup.

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad rued their batting towards the end of their innings.

"I and Shanto (Najmul) were trying to get a partnership but we couldn't capitalise in the end overs. For a team like us, we need a set batter to be there at the end but it didn't happen today," he said.

Pakistan dominated the match right from the start after dismissing both Bangladeshi openers in the first two overs.

Shaheen Afridi went for a golden duck to Saif, and Mohammad Naim fell to Mohammad Wasim for two edging to Fakhar at slip, as Bangladesh were reduced to 5-2.

Afif Hossain and Najmul Hossain offered some resistance, adding 46 runs for the third wicket before Shadab dismissed both to put Pakistan back in control.

For the hosts, Najmul Hossain top-scored with 40 off 34 balls while Afif Hossain chipped in with 20 runs from 21 balls.

Playing his first match of the series, Shaheen finished with 2-15 and Shadab grabbed 2-22 as Bangladesh struggled against Pakistan's quality pace and spin bowling.

Pakistan team has a favorable record in the format against the hosts, winning 10 out of the 12 T20Is they have played together

Following a thrilling victory in the first T-20, Pakistan is all set to take on Bangladesh in the 2nd of three-match series to grab the series with 2-0. The match will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium today.

The match will start at 1pm (Pakistan Standard Time).

Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh, the second international bilateral series right after the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2021, commenced yesterday.

In their tour to Bangladesh, Green shirts will also play two test matches against the host team.

Pakistan has put up the greatest performance in the T20 World Cup 2021, losing only one match to Australia in the entire World T20 Cup 2021 semi-final match.

Pakistan Squad

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shoaib Malik and Usman Qadir.

Bangladesh Squad

Mahmudullah (c), Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shamim Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Saif Hassan, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Shohidul Islam and Akbar Ali.

Fixtures

Nov 19 – First T20I, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka

Nov 20 – Second T20I, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka

Nov 22 – Third T20I, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka

Nov 26-30 – First Test, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram

Dec 4-8 – Second Test, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka

-- Additional input from AFP