Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 5 wickets, secure spot in ICC Men T20.
After South Africa suffered a shock loss to the Netherlands in the opening match of Sunday’s tripleheader, the two sides were fighting for a spot in the T20 World Cup semifinals in a virtual knockout game.
Set to chase a modest target, Pakistan’s batters showed calm as opener Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan cautiously added 57 runs in 63 balls, before rookie Mohammad Haris delivered an outstanding cameo of 18 runs in 31 balls to put Pakistan in a comfortable spot.
After hitting 25 off 33 in the 11th over, captain Babar Azam was bowled by left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed, and Rizwan (32 off 32) followed suit by being caught at point in the very next over while attempting to slash medium pacer Ebadot Hussain.
On the other hand, Shan Masood contributed with a deft undefeated 24 off 14 to lead the team home.
Earlier, Bangladesh had given Pakistan a 128-run goal to reach the semifinals.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, a fast bowler, claimed four wickets as Pakistan restricted Bangladesh to a small total.
Najmul Hossain Shanto was given a second chance after Shadab Khan dropped the left-handed batsman at short extra on 11, and he took advantage of it by scoring 54.
Before Shadab’s ball cost him his wicket while attempting a reverse paddle sweep, Soumya had scored 20 runs off of 17 balls. On the subsequent delivery, Shadab subsequently made another impact—albeit one that was disputed.
Even though Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan disputed the judgement and observed that the ball appeared to have touched the bat before reaching the pad on replays, the third umpire stood by the on-field judgement.
Pakistan, India, England, and New Zealand have qualified for the semifinals.
