Imam, Rizwan fifties help Pakistan beat Bangladesh

Pakistan batter Imam-Ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan smashed fifties as Pakistan cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Bangladesh while chasing a mere 193 in their Asia Cup Super Four encounter at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday.

Opener Imam smashed five fours and four sixes for his 84-ball 78, while Rizwan saw his team through with an unbeaten 79-ball 63 laced with seven fours and a solitary six as Pakistan chased down the target with 63 balls remaining.

Bangladesh Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Mehedi Hasan Miraz picked up one wicket each.

Earlier, Bangladesh put out a dismal effort with the bat as they were bundled out for 193. 

Having opted to bat first, the Bangladesh batters struggled to put the Pakistan pacers at bay as they were reduced to 47 for four before Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan and veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim put on a 100-run stand, with both the batter managing to reach their fifties.

The duo, however, gifted their wickets away, with Shakib being held out at deep square-leg off the bowling of pacer Faheem Ashraf after he scored 57-ball 53, while Mushfiqur, who managed an 87-ball 64, nicked one to the keeper in an attempt to take on Haris Rauf through the covers.

Shamim Hossain showed promise but he too didn't forget to reward away his wicket to part-timer Iftikhar Ahmed. The left-handed batter did manage to hit Shaheen Shah Afridi for a six and tucked away a few singles as he appeared to grow in confidence but he failed to execute a swipe across the line and scooped it straight up for Imam Ul Haq to take the catch.

Afif Hossain's miserable run continued as yet again the left-hander managed to fluff another opportunity with an underwhelming attempt of a shot. His dismal attempt of trying to pull a delivery that wasn't there to be pulled became the cause for his demise in the 39th over after he managed an 11-ball 12.

Pakistan pacers as expected had a ball as they shared nine wickets between them, with Rauf scalping four, while Naseem Shah took three.

Taskin sends back Babar 

Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed castled Pakistan skipper Babar Azam for 17 runs off 22 balls in the 16th over.

Chasing 193, Babar played on a full-length delivery onto the stumps to leave Pakistan two down for 74 after the end of the 16th over. 

Shoriful gives Tigers first breakthrough 

Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam trapped Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman lbw in the 10th over to give the Tigers their first breakthrough.

Shoriful angled in a length ball which sneaked past Fakhar's attempted flick as it crashed onto the pads. 

Fakhar managed to score a 31-ball 20 as he hit three fours.  

Tigers get bundled out for 193 against Pakistan 

Bangladesh put out a dismal effort with the bat as they were bundled out for 193 in their Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Pakistan in Lahore on Wednesday. 

Having opted to bat first, the Bangladesh batters struggled to put the Pakistan pacers at bay as they were reduced to 47 for four before Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan and veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim put on a 100-run stand, with both the batter managing to reach their fifties.

The duo, however, gifted their wickets away, with Shakib being held out at deep square-leg off the bowling of pacer Faheem Ashraf after he scored 57-ball 53, while Mushfiqur, who managed an 87-ball 64, nicked one to the keeper in an attempt to take on Haris Rauf through the covers.

Shamim Hossain showed promise but he too didn't forget to reward away his wicket to part-timer Iftikhar Ahmed. The left-handed batter did manage to hit Shaheen Shah Afridi for a six and tucked away a few singles as he appeared to grow in confidence but he failed to execute a swipe across the line and scooped it straight up for Imam Ul Haq to take the catch.

Afif Hossain's miserable run continued as yet again the left-hander managed to fluff another opportunity with an underwhelming attempt of a shot. His dismal attempt of trying to pull a delivery that wasn't there to be pulled became the cause for his demise in the 39th over after he managed an 11-ball 12.

Pakistan pacers as expected had a ball as they shared nine wickets between them, with Rauf scalping four, while Naseem Shah took three.

Mushfiqur throws it away after well-made fifty

Mushfiqur Rahim threw his wicket away after scoring an 87-ball 64 as he nicked one to the wicketkeeper off the bowling of Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf in the 38th over.

This left the Tigers reeling at 190 for seven in the 38th over.

The right-handed batter came down the wicket and tried to play it through covers but the length along with the pace of Rauf managed to take the outside edge for wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan to take the catch.   

Shakib departs after 100-run stand with Mushfiqur 

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan departed after a well-made 53-run knock off 57 deliveries that featured seven fours to leave the Tigers struggling at 147 for five in the 30th over in their Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Pakistan in Lahore on Wednesday.

Shakib stitched a 100-run stand with Mushfiqur Rahim after the Tigers were reduced to four for 47 in the 10th over.

The left-hander looked to take on pacer Faheem Ashraf over deep square-leg but the bounce wasn't up to his liking and he ended up top edging it to the fielder at deep square leg. 

Mushy, Shakib regroup as Tigers go past 100 

After losing a few quick wickets, two of the experienced campaigners -- skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Muhsfiqur Rahim -- regrouped to give Bangladesh some stability in their Asia Cup Super Four encounter at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore today. 

After 22 overs, Bangladesh reached 111 for four. Shakib remains unbeaten on 38 off 42 while Mushfiqur is not out on 27 off 42 deliveries. 

Shakib and Mushfiqur combined for a fifty-plus stand to help the Tigers recover after a precarious 4-47 in 9.1 overs. Shakib, however, survived a scare on 32 as Naseem Shah dropped a simple easy return catch in the 20th over.  

Soft-dismissal sees the end of Naim 

Bangladesh opener Mohammad Naim yet again left a lot to be desired as he gifted his wicket away following a decent start that saw him hit four boundaries for a 25-ball 20-run knock.

The left-hander tried to pull pacer Haris Rauf, who managed to cramp the batter with a hard-length delivery directed at middle and off from around the wicket, but got his timing all wrong as he skied it for the bowler to pocket it himself at short mid-wicket.

This left the Tigers three down for 45 runs in the eighth over. 

Liton fails to capitalise on good start

Liton Das failed to prolong his stay at the crease after putting away four boundaries for his 13-ball 16-run knock as he tried to fish for a wide delivery outside of off-stump in the fifth over of the innings which was bowled by Pakistan speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Miraz departs for a first-ball duck 

Bangladesh opener Mehedi Hasan Miraz departed for a first-ball duck in their Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday.

In the second over of the innings, Miraz failed to time a full-length delivery on leg-stump and could only manage to scoop it up to short mid-wicket after Bangladesh opted to bat first. 

His dismissal brought Liton Das to the crease.

Liton starts as Tigers opt to bat against Pakistan

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and elected to bat in their first Asia Cup Super Four game at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore today. 

Bangladesh made only one change to the squad. Liton Das, who was initially ruled out of the Asia Cup due to viral fever, starts after having joined the side following his recovery. He replaces Najmul Hossain Shanto, who scored 89 and 104 in the two group-stage games but had to leave the Asia Cup campaign due to a hamstring injury. 

Asked what the reasons behind opting to bat, Shakib said: "No particular reason other than the heat." 

Shakib also mentioned they would like to get runs on the board to put pressure on Pakistan. 

"If we can put runs on the board, we can put pressure on Pakistan. Similar to the match we played against Afghanistan, we want to replicate that. We have to be at our best. We aren't worried about what the opposition can do to us. We know their strengths and weaknesses," Shakib added.  

Pakistan had announced their eleven last night. They have made one change to the eleven that played against Nepal and India in the group stage. Spin-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz makes way for pace-bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf. 

Pakistan skipper Babar also said they would have batter first as well.

"We would have batted as well. There's a bit of grass and we'll try to use that. We are looking very well in the pace department. We are used to this heat as we've played a lot of cricket," Babar said. 

Babar remains one away from scoring a record 20th century for Pakistan, overtaking Pakistan's Saeed Anwar. 

"I am looking forward to this match, I'll try to break the [Saeed Anwar's] record but I'm looking to win this match. Last night we saw a bit of help for fast bowlers, that's why we have an extra fast bowler," Babar said. 

Playing XI: 

Bangladesh: Liton Das, Mohammad Naim, Shakib Al Hasan (C), Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (C), Imam Ul Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf