Bangladesh narrowly defeat Pakistan in the second T20I to seal series win

DHAKA: A gritty half-century from wicketkeeper-batter Jaker Ali, backed by a clinical bowling performance, powered Bangladesh to a landmark win over Pakistan in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday.

This memorable victory sealed Bangladesh’s first-ever T20I series win against Pakistan.

Chasing a modest target of 134, Pakistan’s batting line-up fell short, getting bowled out for 126 on the second ball of the final over.

Pakistan’s innings got off to a disastrous start when opener Saim Ayub was run out for just one in the opening over with only four runs on the board. Things worsened rapidly as a devastating middle-order collapse saw Pakistan slump to 15/5 in just 4.4 overs.

Captain Salman Ali Agha (9) and all-rounder Khushdil Shah tried to stabilise the innings with a cautious 15-run stand for the sixth wicket before Salman’s dismissal in the 10th over. Khushdil added another 17 runs with Faheem Ashraf but fell for 13 off 18 balls in the 12th over to Mahedi Hasan, leaving Pakistan reeling at 47/7 with 87 runs needed off 49 balls.

Faheem and Abbas Afridi put up a brave fight to steer Pakistan away from their lowest T20I total, building a vital 41-run partnership. The pair gave Pakistan a glimmer of hope, reducing the target to 46 off 24 balls with three wickets in hand. However, Shoriful Islam struck immediately, removing Abbas for 19 off 13 balls (2 fours, 1 six) to break the stand.

Faheem continued to battle on, adding another crucial 33 runs for the ninth wicket with debutant Daniyal Ahmed. Faheem’s fighting knock ended on the final ball of the penultimate over when he fell to Rishad Hossain after top-scoring with a blistering 51 off 32 balls, which included four fours and four sixes.

Daniyal kept the chase alive by striking a boundary off Mustafizur Rahman on the first ball of the final over, leaving Pakistan needing nine runs off five balls. But Rahman outfoxed Daniyal with a slower ball that was caught at deep midwicket. Daniyal made a handy 17 off 11 balls with three boundaries.

Shoriful Islam shone for Bangladesh with figures of 3/17 in four overs. Mahedi Hasan and Tanzim Hasan Sakib claimed two wickets each, while Rishad Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman picked up one apiece.

Earlier, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha’s decision to bowl first paid off as their pace attack had Bangladesh on the back foot early. Faheem Ashraf removed opener Mohammad Naim (3) in the second over with only five runs on the board.

Skipper Litton Das (8) and Parvez Hossain Emon added a brief 20-run stand before Litton fell in the fifth over. Bangladesh soon slipped further to 28/4 in 5.5 overs as wickets continued to tumble.

However, Mahedi Hasan and Jaker Ali staged a crucial recovery with a 53-run partnership. The stand ended when Mohammad Nawaz dismissed Mahedi for a brisk 33 off 25 balls (2 fours, 2 sixes) in the 14th over.

Jaker Ali held firm, shepherding the tail with a composed half-century to lift Bangladesh to a competitive total. He top-scored with 55 off 48 balls, hitting one four and five sixes.

For Pakistan, debutant Daniyal Ahmed, Abbas Afridi and Salman Mirza took two wickets each, while Nawaz and Faheem claimed one apiece.

Notably, Bangladesh had already gained the upper hand in the series with a dominant seven-wicket win in the opening match, giving them a historic 2-0 unassailable lead over Pakistan in the T20I series.