ICC World Cup 2019: Match 43, Pakistan vs Bangladesh – Who Said What

Pakistan managed to win their fourth match in succession in the 2019 World Cup. Sarfaraz Ahmed & Co equalled New Zealand on points but fell short on Net Run Rate. The Men in Green finished the tournament with a thumping 94-run victory against Bangladesh at the iconic Lord’s in London. Meanwhile, the Tigers couldn’t make Mashrafe Mortaza’s last World Cup game memorable.

Sarfaraz won the toss and elected to bat, which had to be the case in order for them to stay alive in the mega event. Fakhar Zaman was tied down by some accurate bowling from Mehidy Hasan Miraz. The southpaw perished to fast bowler Mohammad Saifuddin, caught by Miraz at point. Babar Azam (96) and Imam-ul-Haq (100) bailed their team somewhat out of jail with a 157-run stand off 148 deliveries.

Babar was unlucky to miss out on a ton as Saifuddin trapped him to cut short his knock. But Imam racked up his seventh ODI ton to put Pakistan in a commanding position. Imad Wasim (43) yet another time gave a good account of himself with the bat in hand. His brisk knock helped the Men in Green put on 315 in 50 overs. For the Tigers, Mustafizur Rahman flourished with back-to-back five-wicket hauls.

Afridi soars above expectations

When the Tigers reached eight in their run-chase, Pakistan officially were knocked out. Tamim Iqbal got out cheaply to Shaheen Shah Afridi. Soumya Sarkar (22) was dropped by Haris Sohail, but he couldn’t make the chance count and was nipped out by Mohammad Amir. Wahab Riaz cleaned up Mushfiqur Rahim (16). However, Shakib Al Hasan (64) and Liton Das (32) put their heads down for a 58-run stand.

Shaheen rocked Liton and nipped out Shakib- the big fish- to push Bangladesh further on the backfoot. Shakib ended the World Cup with 606 runs and 11 wickets. Shaheen went on to became the youngest with a World Cup five-wicket haul. He castled Mahmudullah (29) with a scorching yorker and then remove Saifuddin to accomplish the feat. The speedster didn’t stop and picked up his sixth wicket as well.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, the Player of the Match, added

Thanks to almighty. The bowling coach Ajju bhai (Azhar Mahmood) was helping me in the nets and I’m happy with this performance. It is a special feeling for me, my family and Pakistan as well. Whenever the senior guys tell me to bowl a yorker, I try to bowl one. Their experience is very helpful for me. It was a slow wicket and we saw Mustafizur bowling a lot of cutters in the first innings and I tried to do the same. This award is special and I want to dedicate this to my Abbu (Dad).

Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, added

We played very good cricket in the last four matches, but unfortunately we couldn’t qualified. Only the one match against West Indies cost us the whole tournament, but the way the boys responded after the India match was honestly commendable. The way we started the combination was not great, but when Shaheen Shah and Haris Sohail came in, I think we were a settled unit.

We need to sit down together, and do lots of work – we have almost two months off. The way our batsmen – Imam, Babar, Haris, and the bowlers, as well, the way they have responded is extremely good. The way Shaheen has bowled in the last four matches has been very encouraging, particularly today, I think he’s taken six wickets. I’d also like to thank the crowd for their support throughout the tournament.

Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh captain, added

I think both matches, in the last two, Shakib batted well, but we didn’t get a good partnerships in the middle. We are extremely sorry that we couldn’t lend a helping hand to Shakib who batted, bowled and fielded very well in every match in this tournament. In some important matches, the fielding has costed us a lot throughout the tournament. The bowling hasn’t been up to the mark either, but the batting is a big positive.

Mustafizur was unplayable from the beginning of his career. He has struggled in the last two years with injuries, but since the Ireland series he has done well, and he is an asset for Bangladesh cricket. We could’ve finished on a good note. It has been 50-50. We have given our 100%, but sometimes we need luck, which has never been with us. I will go home and rethink my career.