Pakistan will next play India on September 10 in Colombo.
Bangladesh couldn’t battle the pace of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf as they collectively picked 7 wickets between them. Only half-centuries from captain Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim saved some face as they posted 193 runs on the board after choosing to bat first.
In response, Imam Ul Haq’s 78 and Mohammad Rizwan’s 63* were enough for Pakistan to win the match with 63 balls to spare.
Men in Greeen captain Babar Azam credited his fast bowlers for the brilliant win over Bangladesh.
“Credit to all the boys, especially the first 10 overs, first Shaheen and then Rauf… This win will give us confidence, we are always ready for a big match. We will give our 100 percent in the next match. I don’t think so. We are just giving our best in every match,” Babar said after the match.
“Yes, we saw the games and fast bowlers were getting a little bit of help and Faheem bowled well. Winning always gives you confidence,” he added.
Haris Rauf was named the Player of the Match for his 4/19 as he claimed wickets of Mohammad Naim (20) and Towhid Hridoy (2) at the beginning of Bangladesh innings. He then came back to remove Mushfiqur and Taskin Ahmed.
Following the game, Rauf insisted that the weather conditions were difficult in Lahore but that he was habitual to playing in hot climates as he plays for Lahore Qalandars in PSL.
“It was hot out there, but I've played a lot of cricket here. I play PSL for Lahore, and the crowd always expects us to perform here. Before any game, we do plan as a bowling unit. We talk about bowling to different plans based on the game phase. Hard length was tough to play here, and the plan was to keep bowling stump to stump. Didn't need to go to the yorker today,” said Rauf.
The Pakistan pacer also made a rather interesting remark on his expectations from the rest of the tournament, insisting that he wants to be the ‘player of the series’.
“I keep working hard and I have high goals for myself, I want to be the Player of the Series in this Asia Cup, let's see how the tournament proceeds,” said Rauf.
The Asia Cup 2023 will now shift to Sri Lanka as the remainder of the Super 4s matches will be played in Colombo including the final.
(Star Sports inputs)