LAHORE: Pakistan beats Bangladesh by 5 wickets in the first T20 International of the three-match series at the Qaddafi Stadium Lahore.
Returning Shoaib Malik’s was the highest scorer for Pakistan with 58 runs off 45 balls. Ahsan Ali scored 36 runs off 32 balls. Bangladeshi bowler Shafiul Islam took 2-wicket for 27 runs.
Bangladesh set a target of 142 runs. Mohammad Naim was the top scorer for Bangladesh with 43 runs off 41 balls.
Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shahdab Khan took 1-wicket and other two batsmen were run out.
Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah determined for winning and said that his team was confident, as several players had recently had a successful run at the Bangladesh Premier League.
On this occasion, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said he would have made the same choice had he won. He expressed hope and said “we will try to bowl them out as soon as we can and chase effectively,” he said.
The series is a tough one for Pakistan, the team struggling to retain its top spot in the International Cricket Council’s world T20 ranking.
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