Summary Bangladesh beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the first ODI on Wednesday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
DHAKA (Web Desk) - The second One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series, between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be played in Dhaka today (Friday). The match will start at 1:15 pm Pakistan Standard Time.
Ahead of the ODI series between Bangladesh and Pakistan, much of the anticipation was around Pakistan's new names as they looked to rebuild with the ODI World Cup lined up next year.
In the first ODI on Wednesday, Pakistan fielded four debutant batters in Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Shamyl Hussain and Abdul Samad. The batting, however, collapsed in the face of Nahid Rana's hostile spell, the fast bowler finishing with career-best figures of 5 for 24.
Nahid, who carries the threat of pace and bounce, mixed his lengths up and caught the Pakistan batters napping. Even the experienced Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha fell to Nahid's perfect execution. Pakistan were bowled out for 114, their lowest total batting first against Bangladesh, and now face a must-win match on Friday.
With a meagre total to defend, Pakistan's bowlers lacked discipline and conceded 14 wides. Bangladesh won by eight wickets in hand and 209 balls to spare. That gave them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, and a chance to win back-to-back ODI series against Pakistan after having swept them 3-0 the last time they played one -- way back in 2015!
Bangladesh will also be pleased with their captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz bagging three wickets, as he has been under fire for his lack of performance in ODIs. It was a timely contribution for the team too, with Bangladesh at times guilty of giving away good starts. Everything seemed to go Bangladesh's way, in fact, with Tanzid Hasan flaying 67* off 42 balls in the chase.
Pakistan have a lot of catching up to do after Bangladesh's flawless day. They had a forgettable start in their journey towards 2027, but will hope their new names and the experienced ones like Rizwan, Agha and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi can help them pull one back.
Bangladesh will look to play the same side that crushed Pakistan in the first ODI, especially if the second game is held on a similar pitch.
Pakistan might not panic just yet despite playing four debutant batters in the first ODI and seeing their batting fall apart. But with quick Mohammad Wasim conceding 24 runs in 3.1 overs in the first ODI, they could look to replace him with Haris Rauf to strengthen their pace attack on Friday.
