Pakistan began the Super Four round with a comfortable win.
Pakistan continued their great run with another one-sided win over Bangladesh by 7 wickets at Lahore in the first match of the Super Four stage in the Asia Cup 2023. This was the fourth and last match of the ongoing tournament to be held in Pakistan, with the remaining matches to be played in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first but their top order was rocked by the Pakistani pace quartet to be 47/4 in the 10th over. Captain Shakib Al Hasan (53) and wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim (64) scored valiant fifties and added a 100-run partnership before Pakistan struck again.
Bangladesh were eventually cleaned up for just 193 in 38.4 overs, with Haris Rauf (4/19) and Naseem Shah (3/34) emerging as the most successful bowlers for Pakistan.
Imam-ul-Haq led Pakistan's reply with the bat as the left-hander struck 78, despite Fakhar Zaman (20) and Babar Azam (17) failing to convert their starts. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan struck an unbeaten 63 and took Pakistan home with 7 wickets in hand and 63 balls remaining.
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Pakistan will play arch-rivals India in their next match on Sunday (September 10). The Pakistani cricket fraternity appreciated the performance, particularly of the pace bowlers who restricted Bangladesh to a mediocre score on a good pitch.
Here are some of the reactions: