Pakistan qualified for the semifinals from Group 2 along with India. In the must-win game against Bangladesh, Pak bowler Shaheen Afridi handed over a comprehensive victory for his team with an explosive spell. With the help of his efforts, Pak won by five wickets.
After winning the toss, Bangladesh chose to bat first. The last match’s hero Litton Das got out pretty early. But Shanto (54) and Soumya Sarkar (20) settled the inning with their 52-run partnership. But once this partnership was broken, wickets kept falling. Apart from Shanto’s half-century, there were no other significant innings from the Bangladeshi batters. In the death overs, Shaheen Shah Afridi (4/22) breathed fire and restricted Bangladesh to a score of 127/8 by the end of the innings. Shadab Khan (2/30) scalped two wickets.
In this low-scoring chase, Pakistan openers Babar Azam (25) and Mohammed Rizwan (32) gave a good start to their team. They made a partnership of 57 runs for the first wicket. Even though they got out in quick succession, Mohammed Haris’s stunning cameo (31 off 18 balls) and Shan Masood’s unbeaten knock (24* off 14 balls) ensured Pakistan a victory. Eventually, Pak made 128/5 in 18.1 overs.
Mostly, Pakistan will take on New Zealand and India will play against England in the semifinals. The equation will change only if India loses against Zimbabwe in the last game of the Super 12 stage.
