KOLKATA - Fakhar Zaman’s brisk 81-run knock after a combined bowl­ing effort propelled Pakistan to a thumping seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the ICC World Cup 2023. Set to chase a mod­est 205, Pakistan comfortably amassed the total for the loss of just three wickets and 105 balls to spare. Pakistan openers Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique gave their side a head start with a dominating 128-run partnership with both scoring half-centuries. 

Abdullah, who reached the milestone first, could not stretch his knock into a big total as he fell victim to Mehidy Hasan Mi­raz in the 22nd over. He scored 68 in 69 deliveries, hitting nine boundaries and two sixes. Babar Azam then joined Fakhar for a brief 32-run partnership before he too, fell victim to Miraz after scoring a mere nine. 

Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck again in his next over to claim the prized wicket of Fakhar Za­man, who fell shy of his well-deserved century. He smashed three boundaries and seven sixes on his way to top score for Pakistan with a 74-ball 81. Fol­lowing his departure, Moham­mad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed put together a 35-run partner­ship to make sure there were no further hiccups in the pursuit. 

Mohammad Rizwan remained unbeaten on 26 off 21 balls while Iftikhar scored a 15-ball 17. A comfortable seven-wicket vic­tory over Bangladesh lifted Paki­stan to fifth in the ICC World Cup 2023 standings with six points in seven matches. Opting to bat first, Bangladesh’s batting lineup failed completely and could only raise 204 before bundling out in the 46th over despite Mahmudullah’s half-century. Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, alongside Haris Rauf, ran through Bangla­desh’s top-order to reduce them to 23/3 in six overs. 

Litton Das and Mahmudul­lah then anchored the innings with a gutsy partnership for the fourth wicket. The pair added 79 runs to the total before If­tikhar Ahmed got rid of Das in the 21st over to halt Bangla­desh’s progress. Das fell shy of his well-deserved half-century, scoring 45 in 64 deliveries with the help of six boundaries. 

Mahmudullah then put to­gether a brief partnership with captain Shakib Al Hasan before falling victim to a stunning de­livery by Shaheen Shah Afridi. He remained the top-scorer for Bangladesh with a 70-ball 56, laced up with six boundaries and a six. Skipper Shakib then took charge of Bangladesh’s batting expedition with a cautious 43. His 64-ball featured four bound­aries. All-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz then added valuable runs at the backend with a 30-ball 25 before perishing in the 44th over off Mohammad Wasim Jr. 

The right-arm pacer struck again in the same over, castling Taskin Ahmed, to book Bangla­desh on a paltry total. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Wasim Jr led the bowling attack for Pakistan, taking three wickets each while Haris Rauf bagged two.