Bangladesh secured a commanding seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the opening clash of their three-match T20I series. The match, held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Sunday, saw Parvez Hossain Emon’s half-century as a standout performance.
On the bowling front, Taskin Ahmed delivered an impressive spell, finishing with figures of 3-22. Mustafizur Rahman was equally economical, grabbing 2-6 in his four overs. Their combined efforts led to Pakistan being dismissed for their lowest-ever T20I total against Bangladesh, bowled out for 109 in 19.3 overs.
Parvez Hossain Emon then anchored Bangladesh’s chase, smashing five sixes and three boundaries in his unbeaten 56 off just 39 balls. This stellar innings helped the home team comfortably reach the target in 15.3 overs, giving them a 1-0 lead in the series.
Despite a promising start from Pakistan’s debutant pacer Salman Mirza (2-23), who claimed the early wickets of Tanzid Hasan (one) and Litton Das (one), Parvez and Towhid Hridoy (36) formed a crucial 73-run partnership for the third wicket, significantly easing the pressure of the chase.
This victory marked only Bangladesh’s fourth win over Pakistan in 23 T20 International encounters.
For Pakistan, opener Fakhar Zaman was the top scorer with a 34-ball 44, which included six boundaries and a six. Abbas Afridi contributed 22 runs, and Khushdil Shah added 17.
Pakistan’s previous lowest T20I total against Bangladesh was 127-5, recorded at the same venue in 2021.
Bangladesh’s Litton Das acknowledged the challenging nature of the pitch. “It’s not an easy wicket to bat on, but the way we batted, it looked good,” said Litton. “We took early wickets and that’s the key point.”
Pakistan skipper Salman Agha attributed the defeat to poor batting. “It wasn’t enough on the board as we lost wickets at regular intervals which we have to talk about before the second game,” said Agha.
After being sent into bat, Pakistan endured a disastrous start, losing half their side for just 46 runs by the eighth over. Saim Ayub (six), Mohammad Haris (four), and Agha (three) all fell cheaply, followed by Hasan Nawaz (zero) and Mohammad Nawaz (three).
Fakhar Zaman, who survived drops on four and 30, added 24 runs for the sixth wicket before being run out. He was sent back by Khushdil Shah but found himself out of his crease. Shah and Abbas then pushed Pakistan past the 100-run mark with a 33-run stand for the seventh wicket.
The remaining matches of the series are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, also in Dhaka.
