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Cricket PlayersHaris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq shine as Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets in Asia Cup Super Four clash
Rauf proved to be too quick for the Bangladeshi batters, who were also troubled relentlessly by Naseem Shah after Shakib-Al-Hasan opted to bat.
Pakistan fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf underlined their calibre in a seven-wicket win against Bangladesh in a Super 4 Asia Cup game in Lahore on Wednesday.
After excelling in the rain-abandoned game against arch-rivals India last Saturday, they inflicted serious damage on a Bangladesh batting unit that had hit 334 versus Afghanistan a few days ago.
Led by Rauf's 4/19 in six overs, Babar Azam's side bowled out Bangladesh for 193 before chasing down the target with 10.3 overs to spare. Shah picked three scalps while Afridi contributed one.
The only concern for Pakistan on the day was when Shah hurt his right shoulder while diving at the fine-leg boundary in the seventh over. The 20-year-old took his time to get back on his feet and walked off the field for further treatment. Thankfully for Pakistan, he was back on the field five overs later and bowled without discomfort.
The trio has only played a handful of games together, but there's almost no respite for opposing batters when each of them is in rhythm. They reduced Bangladesh to 47/4 within the first 10 overs on Wednesday, saddling the experienced Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim with the task of rebuilding.
Skipper Shakib and Rahim responded with a 100-run partnership in 120 deliveries, but there was little substance to the innings beyond that stand. Once seamer Faheem Ashraf got Shakib caught at deep square-leg off a miscued pull, Rauf and Shah were able to come back and run through the rest.
Rauf is such an asset for Pakistan in those middle overs. Blessed with high pace and a cunning slower ball, he has the ability to make inroads even when batters are usually looking to minimise risk in the middle phase of an innings.
The run chase was fairly straightforward for Pakistan, never mind the 20-minute floodlight failure that interrupted their innings. Though opener Fakhar Zaman was dismissed leg-before to left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam and Azam inside-edged a delivery by Taskin Ahmed that kept low, Imam-ul-Haq (78) and Mohammad Rizwan (63*) made good use of the time in the middle. They were measured in their approach, willing to wait for boundary-scoring options on the way to an 85-run stand for the third wicket.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 193 in 38.4 overs (M Rahim 64, S Al Hasan 53; H Rauf 4/19); Pakistan 194/3 in 39.3 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 78, M Rizwan 63*). Pakistan won by 7 wickets.
