After an intense group stage of the Asia Cup 2023, the tournament has moved to the next round. Four teams qualified for the next round. Pakistan and India made it from Group A, and Group B had Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The first match of the Super Four saw a contest between Pakistan and Bangladesh on Wednesday at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. And the hosts registered an easy win by seven wickets to continue their winning momentum. It started with Bangladesh winning the toss and deciding to bat first.
But the Pakistani pacers were again up to the world. Nine out of ten wickets were taken by the pacers. Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers and ended up with a bowling figure of 4/19. He also completed 50 ODI wickets and became the third-fastest Pakistani bowler to do so.
Naseem Shah also picked up 3/24, while Shaheen Afridi, Faheem Ashraf, and Iftikhar Ahmed took one wicket each. Shakib Al Hasan (53) and Mushfiqur Rahim (64) scored a half-century each. Bangladesh were bundled out for just 193 in 38.4.
The chase began with a 35-run opening stand. Then Imam-ul-haq and Mohammad Rizwan added 85 runs for the third wicket to take Pakistan near the score. Imam got out after scoring 78 off 84, including five fours and four sixes. Rizwan remained unbeaten and made 63 runs, including seven fours and one six.
Pakistan made 194/3 in 39.3 overs to win the game with 63 balls to spare. It was another big win for Pakistan in this tournament, and Babar Azam admitted that the team would gain confidence with this win. With that, he also said they are ready for the game against India on Sunday.
In the post-match presentation, Babar said, “This win will give us a lot of confidence (on playing against India). We are always ready for a big match. We will give out 100 percent in the coming game.” Pakistan will play their next game against archrival India on September 10. The last game between the two teams ended without a result due to rain.
