The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
The dream is still alive for Pakistan, only just though, while Bangladesh can safely pack their bags but they still have a couple more games to play. They were blown away by a confident Pakistan side and they officially become the first side to get knocked out of the competition. Could this be the start of something special for Pakistan? They have done it before. Remember the 1992 World Cup, they started poorly but then got on a roll and went onto lift the World Cup. For Bangladesh, the only thing they can do at this stage is to play for pride. It will be difficult for them to take the field after such a disappointing campaign. The World Cup carnival continues with New Zealand slated to square off against South Africa in what promises to be a mouth-watering contest. Like always, it was a pleasure to bring all the live coverage from this encounter. Keep following Sportskeeda for all the latest sporting action but for now this is me (Arya Sekhar Chakraborty) biding adieu also on behalf of my fellow commentator and good mate Pragadeesh. Goodnight fellas!
Babar Azam (Pakistan captain): I think credit goes to the boys for our performance today. Yes, we know what Fakhar can do. It's always a different ball game of Fakhar bats for 20 overs. Yes we are still hopeful. We will try to win the last two matches and see where we stand. Yes, we started well. The way Shaheen started and after that when they built a partnership, I had to call my main bowlers and they delivered. They stuck to good lengths and we managed to get some wickets in the middle overs. Thanks to the Kolkata crowd for supporting me and my team.
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh captain): We didn't get enough runs. The wicket was very good and we lost early wickets again. We got some partnerships but it wasn't enough. Disappointing performance with the bat but we could have done better with the ball. Pakistan bowled brilliantly and came out with a positive frame of mind while batting in the powerplay. We can discuss the batting positions but at this moment changing too many things gets difficult. Even I batted up the order which didn't work. I was short of confidence as well going into this game but thankfully I could get some runs today which will give me some confidence. We had to force the changes but nothing seems to be working. At this moment, we have to perform together. Individuals cannot win you games. We are trying to get answers but sadly we haven't got any. Everywhere we go they keep on supporting. They are always behind us and they are our biggest strength. We have to give back something to them so that they can smile.
Fakhar Zaman (Player of the Match) - After the Asia cup, I practiced a lot and today I felt good. I was looking forward to score runs always but this is Cricket. I took the chance today. I want to see off the first four overs, I wanted to play the four overs and my role is to make things easier for my partner. (Asking about the net run rate) It was on our head and after scoring 100 runs we were looking to finish the game before 30 overs. After too many failures, I was looking to score 30 runs and happy it came off today. Next match, I will make it into a big one
Pakistan won by 7 wickets (with 17.3 overs remaining)
Fakhar Zaman 81(74) | Shaheen Afridi 3/23(9) Mahmudullah 56(70) | Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3/60(9)
It turned out to be a rather clinical run chase from Pakistan as they thrashed Bangladesh by 7 wickets to win their 3rd match of the ICC World Cup. It was a dominant show from the openers Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique who shared a match-winning opening stand to lay the foundation for a massive win. This will certainly give them confidence going forward and it also makes their next game against New Zealand a very important one. Mind you, Pakistan still have a couple of games to go and if they can win both their games, you never know.
They can just sneak in as the 4th team but it will be too early to say that. The only way to challenge Pakistan with a paltry score of 204 was to take early wickets and the Bangladesh bowlers were well off their line and length as both Fakhar and Shafique struck some exceptional shots. They got away with a couple of run-out opportunities in the first over itself as it was evident that it was a new opening pair and the duo might not have batted too many times before this game.
Taskin Ahmed started off well with a few good deliveries as Bangladesh bowled two maidens in the first three overs. It was Fakhar who broke the shackles with a mighty swipe across the line which went for a 99 metre six and once the first six was out of the day, it was sheer carnage from Fakhar. He played the situation brilliantly but smashed sixes at will. Shafique also batted brilliantly and the duo went onto score impressive half-centuries en route to their massive opening stand of 128 runs in a shade over 21 overs.
Shafique looked at complete ease of proceedings and kept bludgeoning the bowlers to all corners of the park. He was eventually dismissed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz with a fractionally fuller one as he was trapped right in front of the stumps. Out came Babar Azam in the middle and he also looked to be aggressive. He smashed a delectable cover drive before miscuing one straight down the throat of the long-on fielder. Fakhar continued the good work but it was one shot too many in the end as the attempted slog sweep found the deep midwicket fielder.
His knock of 81 came in just 74 deliveries which was studded with 3 fours and as many as 7 sixes. Mohammad Rizwan came out with a clear frame of mind and smashed his first delivery for a boundary. He kept smashing boundaries while Iftikhar who was the man in at the fall of Fakhar's wicket also tried to play the big shots straightaway. None of the Bangladesh bowlers could make any impact barring Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
He got the ball to turn a bit but when he did take the wickets, the match was all but sealed as far as Pakistan were concerned. Miraz bagged all three wickets for Bangladesh. It was Mohammad Rizwan who nudged it for a single towards the cover region in the 32nd over to secure a convincing victory for Pakistan.
That's the game for Pakistan. What a clinical display this has been and a confidence booster for them going into the last two games. They have to win the last two and then hope some other results go their way. However take nothing away from their performance today. They played timid cricket in their first few matches and today it was totally different. Bangladesh did try their best but they couldn't quite put the right foot out and went onto lose their 6th game on the bounce.
32.3 Shakib Al Hasan to Mohammad Rizwan, PAKISTAN ARE BACK TO WINNING WAYS! They end their four-match losing streak with a commanding win. Quicker through the air angling around off, Rizwan doesn't go for a glory hit as he's happy to work this softly to cover for a single
32.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Mohammad Rizwan, pitched up delivery on a fuller length and it's been driven to extra cover
32.1 Shakib Al Hasan to Iftikhar Ahmed, quicker on a good length angling in, Iftikhar turns this to wide long-on and settled down for one. The scores are tied
Iftikhar was trying to load up for the big shot on a couple of occasions but had to be content with singles. Just two more needed and this should be the final over of this game. Can Iftikhar finish it off with a six?
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Eden Gardens, Kolkata
