PESHAWAR: Pakistan on Saturday defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets thanks to the outstanding batting of Fakhz Zaman and opener Mohammad Rizwan.
Pakistan won the T20 series by 2-0.
The second T20 match was played at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka. The hosts decided to bat after winning the toss and scored 108 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. Bangladesh team entered the field without any change while Pakistan had dropped Hasan Ali and included Shahinshah Afridi.
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Both Bangladesh openers returned to the pavilion in the opening overs as Afridi kept the opposite side under pressure. He dismissed opener Saif Al Hasan in his first over while Mohammad Wasim Jr. dismissed Muhammad Naeem in the 2nd over. Najam Al-Hassan and Afif Hussain shared 46 runs partnership but Shadab Khan bowled Afif (20 runs) in the 9th over.
Najam Al Hasan (40 runs) batted well and tried to form another partnership with captain Mahmudullah in which he was somewhat successful and took the total score to 89. But then Mahmudullah (12 runs) got out by Haris Rauf. Bangladesh scored 108 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Afridi and Shadab Khan took two wickets each while Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz took one wicket each.
In response, Pakistan easily achieved the target of 109 runs for the loss of just two wickets. The host bowlers did not prove to be a threat at any stage during Pakistan’s batting. However, the World Cup T20 top scorer and Captain Babar Azam failed in the 2nd match in a row. He was bowled by Mustafizur Rehman after scoring just one run. But opener Rizwan continued his excellent performances. He formed a decisive 85-run partnership with Fakhar Zaman. Rizwan was dismissed for 39 while Zaman remained unbeaten on 57.
Pakistan team: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhr Zaman, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Khush Dil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim Jr.
Bangladesh team: Muhammad Naeem, Saif al-Hassan, Najam al-Hussein Shanto, Mahmudullah, Afif Hussain, Sharif al-Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Amin al-Islam, Mehdi Hassan, and Mustafizur Rehman.
Pakistan had won the first match played on Friday by four wickets after an interesting contest while the third and final match will be played on Monday [22 November] in Dhaka.