Pakistan crush Bangladesh to keep alive World T20 semifinal hopes

Ahmed Shehzad became the first Pakistani batsman to hit a Twenty20 International century as the 2009 champions crushed Bangladesh by 50 runs in a Group Two match to keep alive their semi-final hopes in the World Twenty20 on Sunday.

Right-handed Shehzad remained unbeaten after a sparkling 111 off 62 balls to fire Pakistan to a commanding 190 for five before they returned to restrict Bangladesh to 140-7 for a comprehensive victory.

"I'm very proud," Shehzad told reporters. "Before coming here that was my aim, that in pool games itself, I need to make a century to become the first Pakistani player with centuries in all three formats."

The result meant hosts Bangladesh and Australia have no chance of progressing any further in the tournament.

The winner of Tuesday's Pakistan v West Indies match will grab the second semi-final spot from Group Two after India qualified for last four with a hat-trick of wins.

Faced with a mammoth task, Bangladesh's chase never really took off.

Opener Tamim Iqbal (16) added 30 quick runs in just over three overs with Anamul Haq (18) before being castled by Umar Gul (3-30) and triggering a top order collapse the hosts could not really recover from.

Pakistan spin trio of Saeed Ajmal (2-20), Shahid Afridi and Zulfiqar Babar struck in quick successions to deny Bangladesh any momentum.

Shakib Al Hasan (38) hit Babar for two consecutive sixes and played with natural flair in his 32-ball knock but it did little beyond injecting some temporarily excitement in the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium where the crowd had gone silent.

Shehzad, 22, lit up the stadium with his clean-hitting, playing routine as well as cheeky shots to expose the limitation of the home side's bowling.

The right-hander hit paceman Mashrafe Mortaza for three successive boundaries and a six in the third over to signal his intention and never relented.

It took him only 30 balls to race to his half-century after Pakistan had opted to bat first in their must-win match.

Cruising at 43 for no loss in the fifth over, Pakistan lost three quick wickets to slump to 71 for three but Shehzad was unperturbed as well as unstoppable.

Boundaries continued to flow from his blade and he took a single off Shakib to bring up the second century of this year's tournament after Englishman Alex Hales hit 116 against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Shehzad, whose previous best was 98 not out against Zimbabwe in 2013, celebrated the feat with his fifth six as he and Afridi (22) plundered 24 runs off that productive Mortaza over.

"That Harare knock is close to my heart because that time my ODI position was not secure and I was trying to make a comeback. That knock gave me a lot of joy even if I missed a century," he said.

"It gave me the confidence that I can go beyond that. I was on 70-odd today when (partner) Shoaib Malik told me I can easily get the century.

"I also got captain's message 'you play full 20 overs and let others play around you'. This is how it works in Twenty20 when a set batsman has to anchor the innings."

PAKISTAN INNINGS

Pakistan outplayed Bangladesh winning by 50 runs to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the ICC World Twenty20 semifinals.

Chasing a target of 191, Bangladesh made 140-7 with Shakib Al Hasan top scoring with 38.

Umar Gul claimed three for 30 and Ajmal two for 20.

Mortaza cracks a couple of boundaries in the final over from Gul but it was little consolation for Bangladesh who make 140-7 in 20 overs chasing a stiff target of 191.

It's all over bar the shouting now as Bangladesh lose their seventh wicket. Ban 116-7 in 17.4 overs.

Ziaur Rahman c Kamran Akmal b Umar Gul 0 (1b 0x4 0x6)

Mahmudullah slams Ajmal for a flat six but the end is near for Bangladesh as Nasir departs after hitting some lusty blows. Ban 112-6 in 17 overs.

Nasir Hossain st Kamran Akmal b Saeed Ajmal 23 (19b 1x4 1x6)

New batsman Nasir Hossain hammers Afridi inside out over extra cover for a six. Ban 100-5 in 16 overs.

Bangladesh's last hope Shakib goes after blasting a couple of boundaries, suriving a dropped catch before holing out to Umar Akmal. Ban 91-5 in 15 overs.

Shakib Al Hasan c Umar Akmal b Umar Gul 38 (32b 2x4 2x6)

Shakib survives a stumping chance off Babab before blasting consecutive sixes to lift Bangladesh's hopes. Ban 69-4 in 12 overs.

Babar removes the Bangladesh captain trapping him leg before. Ban 47-4 in 9.1 overs.

Mushfiqur Rahim lbw b Zulfiqar Babar 2 (4b 0x4 0x6)

Afridi strikes as Shamsur nicks one behind. Ban 44-3 in 8.1 overs.

Shamsur Rahman c Kamran Akmal b Shahid Afridi 4 (12b 0x4 0x6)

Anamul skips down the track and slams the first ball from Ajmal to the midwicket boundary but the ace spinner has the last laugh as the batsman pops a return catch. Ban 36-2 in 5.4 overs.

Anamul Haque c and b Saeed Ajmal 18 (16b 3x4 0x6)

Gul strikes with his second delivery beating the outside edge of Tamim and castling him. Ban 30-1 in 4.2 overs.

Tamim Iqbal b Umar Gul 16 (15b 2x4 0x6)

Anamul attacks Hafeez pulling him to the midwicket fence for a boundary. Ban 20-0 in 3 overs.

Anamul gets his first boundary steering Tanvir past slip to third man. Ban 13-0 in 2 overs.

Tamim hits the first boundary of the innings punching Hafeez past point. Ban 6-0 in 1 over.

PAKISTAN INNINGS

A maiden unbeaten century by Ahmed Shehzad (111), the first in T20 internationals by a Pakistan batsman, steered them to a formidable total of 190-4 in 20 overs.

Opener Shehzad faced just 62 balls during his knock which was studded with 10 fours and five sixes.

He shared in a brisk 83-run stand for the fourth wicket with Shoaib Malik (26) which helped them recover after a bit of a wobble in the middle when they slumped to 71-3 in the 10th over.

Left arm spinner Razzak was the pick of the bowlers claiming two for 20 while Mortaza went for 63.

Afridi holes out after a brief cameo. Pak 188-5 in 19.4 overs.

Shahid Afridi c Ziaur Rahman b Al-Amin Hossain 22 (9b 1x4 2x6)

Afridi blasts consecutive sixes off Mortaza as Pakistan are set for a big total. Pak 180-4 in 19 overs.

Shehzad survives being caught off a no-ball after blasting his fifth six off Mortaza.

Shehzad becomes the first Pakistan to get a century in T20 international. It cames off just 58 balls and contained nine boundaries and four sixes. Pak 156-4 in 18 overs.

Shakib gets Malik who is smartly stumped by Rahim. Pak 154-4 in 17.4 overs.

Shoaib Malik st Mushfiqur Rahim b Shakib Al Hasan 26 (23b 2x4 0x6)

Mortaza bowls an erratic over which goes for 16 with Shehzad picking up a couple of boundaries to move to 92. Pak 146-3 in 16 overs.

Malik gets into the act cracking a couple of boundaries off Mahmudullah. Pak 123-3 in 14 overs.

Ziaur Rahman goes for 22 as Shafeez turns it on hammering a couple of sixes and cracking a couple of boundaries. Pak 110-3 in 13 overs.

Razzak completes an excellent spell returning figures of 4-0-20-2. Pak 82-3 in 11 overs.

Shehzad completes his half century off 30 balls but Umar Akmal goes for a duck as Mahmudullah strikes with his second delivery. Pak 71-3 in 9.2 overs.

Umar Akmal c Tamim Iqbal b Mahmudullah 0 (2b 0x4 0x6)

Razzak strikes again beating Hafeez in flight and pace. Pak 70-2 in 8.5 overs.

Mohammad Hafeez st Mushfiqur Rahim b Abdur Razzak 8 (12b 0x4 0x6)

Shehzad continues to attack hammering Al-Amin inside out over extra cover for his second six. Pak 65-1 in 8 overs.

Razzaq strikes with his third delivery inducing a half-hearted paddle sweep from Kamran with Ziaur Rahman taking a brilliant catch. Pak 43-1 in 4.3 overs.

Kamran Akmal c Ziaur Rahman b Abdur Razzak 9 (12b 2x4 0x6)

Kamran gets his second boundary with a slog sweep off Shakib. Pak 42-0 in 4 overs.

Spin introduced to stem the flow of runs as Shakib comes into the attack.

Shehzad is taking on Mortaza slamming three consecutive boundaries, two on the leg and a classic cover drive, before lofting him straight for the first six of the match. Pak 34-0 in 3 overs.

Shehzad gets cracking hammering a couple of boundaries through square leg and midwicket. Pak 16-0 in 2 overs.

Kamran hits the first boundary of the match cracking Mortaza through point. Pak 5-0 in 1 over.

Pakistan have won the toss and will bat first.

Sohail Tanvir comes in for Bilawal Bhatti.

For Bangladesh, Abdur Razzak comes in for Sohag Gazi.

PLAYING XI

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Ziaur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Al-Amin Hossain

Pakistan: Kamran Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar, Saeed Ajmal

PREVIEW

Pakistan will return to World Twenty20 action after a week’s break on Sunday charged up to make a move for the semi-finals by winning their two remaining games in the Super-10 round in Dhaka.

Mohammad Hafeez’s men, who lost their opening group two match to India by seven wickets on March 21, bounced back to beat Australia by 16 runs last Sunday and remain in contention.

Pakistan must defeat hosts Bangladesh on Sunday and the defending champions West Indies on Tuesday to join India in the semi-finals from the group.

“The picture is clear,” Hafeez said on Saturday. “We have to win both games to make sure we are in the last four. There is no scope to make mistakes now and we are eager to get back to the field.”

Hafeez said the team used the break to iron out shortcomings ahead of the crucial matches at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

“We have trained and worked hard for the last six days,” he said. “The management and the coaches worked on our weaknesses. The build-up for the crucial stage has gone off very well.”

Hafeez praised arch-rivals India, who won three consecutive games to ensure their place in the knock-out round even before their last league match against Australia on Sunday.

“India have played very good cricket so far in the tournament,” the Pakistan skipper said.
“It’s good they are through, so the rest of the teams know what it will take to advance.

“Expectations should always remain high. Our target is not just the semi-finals, but also to win the tournament. I think we are destined to do well.”

Pakistan, champions in 2009, have an impressive record in World Twenty20, making the semi-finals of all four editions so far.

Pakistan’s batting, which faltered against India to be restricted to 130-7, came back strongly against Australia where they piled up 191-5 following Umar Akmal’s scintillating 94 off 54 balls.

Hafeez said Akmal, who strained a hamstring during that innings, was fit to play on Sunday.

“The break came as a blessing in disguise,” Hafeez said. “It gave time to the physios to work on him. He has been training for the last two days.”

Hafeez knows the tougher game will be against the West Indies on Tuesday, but refused to take Bangladesh lightly even though the hosts have lost both matches so far.

“No team is easy to beat in T20 cricket,” he said. “You have to do the basics right every time. We respect Bangladesh and will do our best to win.”

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