Twitter Reactions: Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez maul Bangladesh in Lahore to seal the series

Pakistan have thumped Bangladesh by nine wickets in the second of the three-match T20I series. They have also sealed the series with a game to go thanks to some exceptional batting from the skipper Babar Azam and the veteran Mohammad Hafeez. The visitors, unfortunately, never looked like competing after posting an under-par score despite opting to bat first.

Having said that, the hosts got off to a poor start in the 137-run chase as Ahsan Ali who made his international debut in the previous game, bagged a seven-ball duck. Shafiul Islam got the better of him in the second over of the innings and one felt that the Tigers will once again put up a fight like they had done the other day in the series opener. But what followed later was a proper hammering with both Babar and Hafeez playing some great shots.

The Pakistan captain got going from the word go and looked in great touch after missing out on Friday. Hafeez took his time early on before unfurling some of the best shots in his book. The duo didn’t even give a chance to the opposition and put an exhibition of some brilliant batting for the spectators at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. They also got to their respective half-centuries and eventually sealed the chase in the 17th over of the innings.

While Babar Azam remained unbeaten on 66 off 44 deliveries with seven fours and a six, Hafeez smashed 67 runs off just 49 balls with nine fours and a lone maximum.

Tamim Iqbal steers Bangladesh

Earlier, Bangladesh lost Mohammad Naim in the second over itself as he got out for a golden duck. The run-scoring was proving to be difficult for the visitors even as Liton Das and Mahedi Hasan also got out to leave the team reeling at 41/3 in the 8th over. However, Tamim Iqbal was playing brilliantly and kept the scoreboard ticking.

Rather, the constant fall of wickets at the other end was keeping him away from playing freely. Afif Hossain provided decent support at the other end but he could barely accelerate and the same was the case with the skipper Mahmudullah. Tamim tried his best though and scored a half-century before being run-out for 65 in the 18th over of the innings.

Bangladesh never got the final push in the death overs and they could only post 136 runs on the board for the loss of six wickets. Mohammad Hasnain was the best bowler for the home side as he returned with the figures of 2/20 in his four overs while Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan also picked a wicket each.

However, the score didn’t prove to be enough at all for the visitors to level the series. The dead rubber and the final match of the series now will be played on Monday at the same venue.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: