PAK Vs BAN, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Revitalised Pakistan Knock Bangladesh Out Of Semi-final Race - As It Happened

Fakhar Zaman was given the chance today and he delivered in style. His innings of 81 runs from 74 balls laced with seven massive hits was a treat to watch. Zaman's partnership for the first wicket with Abdullah Shafique 68(69) for 128 runs set the tone for Pakistan's victory against Bangladesh in Kolkata, then Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan made sure that it happened. Pakistan thus registered a comprehensive seven-wicket win with 105 balls to spare against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens and kept their semi-final hopes alive. The result also meant that Bangladesh are now officially out of the last-four race. After being asked to bowl first, Pakistan owned the game from the start. Shaheen Afridi's early strikes broke Bangladesh's spirit. Haris Rauf and Iftikhar Ahmed took wickets at crucial moments and never let the momentum shift to the other side. Mohammad Wasim Jr. also took three wickets. In their next match, Pakistan will face New Zealand in Chennai on Saturday, while Bangladesh take on Sri Lanka in Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday. Catch cricket scores and highlights of the PAK Vs BAN match here (Scorecard | Points Table | Report)

That's all from our side!

Player of the match - Fakhar Zaman 81(74)

Brief score: PAK - 205/3 (32.3)

Fakhar Zaman - 81(74),  Abdullah Shafique - 68(69)  |  Mehidy Hasan Miraz: (9-0-60-3)

8:30 pm: Pakistan won by 7 wickets!
Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan take the Pakistan innings to the target after Fakhar Zamn's dismissal. Rizwan hit the winning runs in the form of a single towards the covers region. A comprehensive victory for Pakistan. Poor performance by Bangladesh. 

8:30 pm: PAK - 191/3; Overs: 21-30 Highlights
Both openers lost their wickets and Babar Azam also gave his wicket to Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Mehidy has come out to be the effective bowler from Bangladesh taking all three wickets in this phase for Bangladesh. Zaman continued his approach and played big shots to make runs and finally lost his wicket after making 81 runs in 74 balls with three fours and seven sixes. Earlier, Abdullah Shafique was given plumb LBW out by the umpire for 68 runs in 69 balls with two sixes and 9 fours. However, Shafique took DRS and lost one review. Babar Azam also played a handy innings. Only 10 runs are required now for Pakistan to win this game. 

8:20 pm: Mehidy traps Zaman!
The slog-sweep fails, as Fakhar holed out to wide midwicket. Fakhar slid down onto his knee as he played the slog-sweep, but he didn't grab hold of it for a change, hitting it flat and hard, straight down Hridoy's throat. Bangladesh is scooping up wickets as Pakistan approaches the target. 

8:00 pm: Mehidy gets Babar Azam!
Babar Azam attempts to imitate his partner and holes out to long-on. Mehidy's off-break came down the pitch, and he didn't account for the spin, didn't get to the pitch of the ball, and had a reckless swipe, off the inner side of the bat, and lobs a dolly down to long-on.

7:45 pm: Mehidy removes Shafique!
Shafique misses the sweep with a well-flung up over spinner on-off and slips on from a wider length. Shafique squanders a review. Bangladesh has broken the opening stand.

7:40 pm: PAK - 124/0; Overs: 11-20 Highlights
Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman pair have given Pakistan a dream start. Shafique and Zaman both were suffering from cramps and were attended by the medical team on the ground. Shakib was also seen for his leg injury. Zaman dealt in sixes after the cramps issue. He also became the first batter from Pakistan after 2005 to score 3 sixes before the 12th over in an ODI innings. Shafique completed his 4th ODI half-century and showed some beautiful grounded shots. Zaman showed some massive sixes. Both fire and ice pair let the Pakistan innings to a decent total after the completion of the 20th over. Pakistan are nearing the target very easily. 

7:10 pm: Zaman & Shafique going big!
Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique's partnership has crossed 100 runs and still going strong. Both batters have picked the bad balls and punished them. Fakhar Zaman has taken the aerial route to score. He has hit 5 sixes in his innings so far. Abdullah Shafique played some very nice grounded shots and also dispatched the bad balls for sixes in between.

6:50 pm: PAK - 52/0; Overs: 1-10 Highlights
Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique have given Pakistan a dream start for chasing a mere target of 205 runs against Bangladesh. There were two instances in the very first over where Abdullah Shafique would have been in a problem if there would have been a direct hit. Other than that, both batters took their time to set and once they were set, dispatched the ball towards the boundary rope. Fakhar hit two massive sixes to release some pressure. He is coming back to the team after being dropped due to bad form. Abdullah Shafique also continued his good form and played some very nice shots. 52 runs were added in the first powerplay without the loss of any wicket.

6:00 pm: Pakistan start batting
Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique opened Pakistan's batting and Taskin Ahmed opened the bowling attack. Two run-out chances in the first over. Both for Abdullah Shafique. If the ball had hit the wickets, Shafique would have been out. 6 runs from the first over. Pakistan are off the mark.

Innings Break!
Pakistan were invited to bowl first by Bangladesh's captain Shakib Al Hasan at the toss. Shaheen Afridi's two early scalps put Bangladesh under pressure. Litton Das 45(64) and Mahmudullah 56(70) added 79 runs for the fourth wicket, but Iftikhar Ahmed broke the partnership with a soft dismissal of Das. Mahmudullah was soon removed by Shaheen when he was introduced for his second spell. Captain Shakib Al Hasan 43(64) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz 25(30) added some crucial runs. Mohammad Wasim Jr wrapped up Bangladesh's tail with three bowled outs. The ball was reverse-swinging a bit at the end. Pakistani bowlers bowled in good areas and never let the momentum shift to Bangladesh's side. Poor shot selection and wrong length reading led to the fall of Bangladesh's innings with some five overs to spare. Pakistan need 205 runs.

Target set for Pakistan - 205 runs in 300 balls

Brief score: BAN - 204/10 (45.1)

Mahmudullah - 56(70),  Litton Das - 45(64)  |  Shaheen Afridi: (9-1-23-3)

5:40 pm: Bangladesh all-out!
Mohammad Wasim Jr came for his final spell and bowled three cracking deliveries to wrap up Bangladesh's innings. He first bowled Mehidy Hasan Miraz with a bit of reverse swinging delivery. Shaheen was also creating pressure from the other end. Wasim had found the right length and bowled Taskin Ahmed on a similar delivery. Mustafizur Rahman was also bowled out to finish Bangladesh's innings for 204 all out. Pakistan now need to make 205 runs to win this match.

5:23 pm: Wasim removes Mehidy and Taskin!
Mohammad Wasim Jr bowled Mehidy Hasan Miraz to shatter Bangladesh's hopes of a big total on the board. Now only tailenders are reamined in Bangla batting order. Wasim bowled a beautiful delivery to dismiss Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Ravi Shastri on air said it was "a bit of reverse swing". The ball went through between the bat and pad, missed the inner edge and went to the timber. Taskin Ahmed also got bowled out on the third delivery of Wasim. It visibly reversed and the ball destroyed the sticks missing the outside edge. One more wicket to go.

5:10 pm: BAN - 188/7; Overs: 31-40 Highlights
Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled Mahmudullah when he was introduced for his second spell. Mahmudullah made 56 runs off 70 balls. Towhid Hridoy hit a six off Usama Mir but got trapped on the next delivery. Shakib Al Hasan played grounded shots in his innings and was removed by Haris Rauf in the last over of this phase when he was introduced into the attack. Shakib made 43 runs in 64 balls. Mehidy Hasan Miraz is joined by Taskin Ahmed and both will be looking to post a defendable total on the board as the innings move to the death overs. 

5:05 pm: Haris Rauf removes Shakib!
At 141.3kph, Shakib digs in short, rises above the waist outside off, and looks to go for it with a pull shot. Only a top edge is achieved, and the ball swells into the air. Salman sits under it at mid-wicket to reverse-cup it. The ball was about to fall out, but he hangs on to it. Pakistan made a critical breakthrough just as Shakib began to boost the ante.

4:30 pm: Shaheen bowled Mahmudullah!
Shaheen Afridi was brought back into the attack and once again he delivered with a wicket. He bowled set batter Mahmudullah to put pressure back on Bangladesh. Mahmudullah departed after scoring a crucial 56 runs inning. Towhid Hridoy joined captain Shakib Al Hasan on the crease.

4:25 pm: BAN - 128/4; Overs: 21-30 Highlights
Bangladesh reached 100 runs in the 21st over. Litton Das lost his wicket to Iftikhar Ahmed when he gave a simple catch to Salman Agha at mid-wicket. Das was very disappointed. After building the innings he had to depart for a soft dismissal. Shakib Al Hasan joined Mahmudullah at the crease. Mahmudullah completed his fifty in 58 balls. this is his 28th ODI fifty. The run rate has gone down due to more dot balls. Both batters were taking their time to settle and that led to just 32 runs in the last 10 overs with the loss of one wicket of set batter Litton Das. 

3:45 pm: BAN - 96/3; Overs: 11-20 Highlights
Mohammad Wasim Jr conceded a couple of fours in his first over. Bangladesh completed 50 runs in the 12th over. Usama Mir bowled a few freebies and allowed Bangla batters to open their arms. Litton Das and Mahmudullah punished bad balls and respected good deliveries. The stand between the two batters also reached 50 runs and both continued to rotate strikes and hit boundaries in between. 59 runs were scored in this phase without any further wicket loss. Bangladesh's innings have been rebuilt by the two rescuers. 

2:55 pm: BAN - 37/3; Overs: 1-10 Highlights
Shaheen Afridi removed Tanzid Hasan in the first over to put pressure on Bangladesh. Najmul Hossain Shanto's bad form continued as he lost his wicket to Shaheen Afridi after hitting a boundary. Mushfiqur Rahim joined Litton Das at the crease. Das played positive shots and hit two back-to-back fours off Haris Rauf to welcome him. Mushfiqur Rahim also hit a four, but Rauf struck back and backed his length to claim the wicket of Rahim. Bangladesh have started poor and bad shots led to the loss of three early wickets for them. Mahmudullah came before Shakib and Mehidy today. Litton Das and Mahmudullah may look to stand a big partnership to rebuild the innings after the early strikes from Pakistan seamers.

2:40 pm: Haris Rauf removes Mushfiqur!
Litton Das welcomed him with two boundaries then Mushfiqur Rahim also hit another one through the point region. He backed his length on the next delivery and Rahim edged it that went right into the keeper Mohammad Rizwan's gloves. Players appealed, Umpire pointed his finger for Out. Rahim departed after scoring just 5 runs.

2:30 pm: Pakistan's semifinals chances
Pakistan are not officially out of the semifinal race. They are currently at the 7th position with 4 points. From here, they can earn a maximum of 6 more points. Then it will become 10 points. India already have 12 points. The rest are South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Afghanistan which are in the race for the semifinals. So many ifs and buts are to be applied here for Pakistan's road to the semifinals. However, big wins can improve their run rate.

2:20 pm: Shaheen Afridi on fire!
Shaheen Afridi LBW out Tanzid Hasan first, then removed Najmul Hossain Shanto in his next over to take his wicket tally to 101. Usama Mir took a very sharp catch at short mid-wicket. Poor start from Bangladesh.

2:05 pm: Bangladesh start batting
Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das opened the Bangladesh batting and Shaheen Afridi opened the bowling attack for Pakistan. And Shaheen Afridi strikes with the first over. Tanzid Hasan is LBW out. He took DRS but Umpire's call sent him back to the pavilion. 100th wicket for Shaheen Afridi. He is the third fastest to reach this milestone. He took 51 matches to achieve this. Bangladesh are under pressure. 

1:35 pm: Toss Update

Bangladesh have won the toss and have opted to bat

Teams:

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam

Pakistan (Playing XI): Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Shaheen Afridi, Usama Mir, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf

1:35 pm: What captains said
Shakib Al Hasan: We'll bat first; it appears to be a dry pitch; the last time we played here, it was slow and there was turn. We have nothing to lose, so we must perform well in the first ten overs and hope to progress from there. We haven't been consistent enough; we've done bits and pieces but haven't performed as a group, which has been frustrating. In terms of culture, there isn't much difference between here and Dhaka, so perhaps we'll have some decent support.

Babar Azam: We'd want to bat first as well. Because there is some moisture in it, there may be some swing early on. We were strong in all three areas during our last encounter. There was a lot of positive vibe. I'm also hoping for a huge innings that I can turn into a hundred. Imam, Shadab, and Nawaz are out, Fakhar, Salman, and Usama are in.

1:20 pm: Pitch Report
It's 74m straight down the ground, with 59m and 69m side boundaries. The last game had a lot of turns and bounces, but it was on a different pitch. Today's pitch appears to be incredibly dry, with little moisture at all. It should turn a little and activate the spinners. In their pitch report, Nasser Hussain and Shane Watson predict that the hitters will face some difficulties.

12:45 pm: Head-to-head Record
Pakistan have historically had the wood on their sub-continental rivals. Of the 38 times Pakistan and Bangladesh have met in One-Day International matches, the former have won 33 while the latter five. However, in their last five encounters, Bangladesh have won three times while Pakistan have won two.  

12:30 pm: Weather Conditions 
The weather in Kolkata is expected to be on the warmer side. The maximum temperature will be around 32°C, with 58 percent humidity and a 10 percent chance of rain. 

Preview:
Pakistan are down, but not entirely out yet. India's traditional arch-rivals have had a disastrous campaign at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 so far with four back-to-back losses, the last one of which was particularly gutting. The Men In Green are on the brink of elimination in the group stage, but they still have a mathematical shot at making the semi-finals. And they would like to leave no stone unturned in trying to get there. Pakistan must win all three of their remaining games to stand a chance, and the first one is against sub-continental adversaries Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.

Pakistan mounted a stirring fightback against South Africa in Chennai, and if not for an extremely close DRS call that went against them, they might have been in an entirely different position right now. Ifs and buts don't win you competitions, however, and the Babar Azam-led side must deal with the situation at hand prudently.    

They will face Bangladesh, a side that has had an even worse run in the ODI World Cup so far. The Bangla Tigers have lost five of their six games, and are as good as eliminated. After a thorough 87-run thrashing by Netherlands in Kolkata, a distraught Shakib Al Hasan said he doesn't know "what's on the players' minds". But he will have to brush away the disappointment and get down to business, to salvage some pride in the last three games. 

Squads: 
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Kumer Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.