Shaheen vows to back team ’till the end’ after Bangladesh thrashing
MIRPUR: Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi on Wednesday expressed his determination to back his young team until the end following their eight-wicket hammering at the hands of Bangladesh in the first ODI of the three-match away series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
The Green Shirts, who slotted four debutants in their lineup for the series opener, were blown away by Nahid Rana’s five-wicket haul after being put into bat first by Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz and could accumulate 114 before getting bowled out in 30.4 overs.
All-rounder Faheem Ashraf remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with an anchoring 37 at the backend, followed by the debutant duo of Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat with 27 and 18, respectively, while wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan (10) was the other to amass double figures.
In response, the hosts made light work of the modest 115-run target as they chased it down for the loss of two wickets and 209 balls to spare, courtesy of opening batter Tanzid Hasan’s unbeaten half-century.
Tanzid top-scored for Bangladesh with 67 not out from 47 balls, studded with seven fours and five sixes, while Mohammad Wasim Jr and skipper Shaheen could pick up a wicket apiece for Pakistan.
Reflecting on his team’s dismal performance in the series opener, Shaheen insisted that the batters made a decent start until Nahid came out to bowl, whom he praised for bowling “really well”.
The Pakistan captain acknowledged their failure to make a desired start to the series but urged that there were two more games left and stressed that he would continue backing the young side until the end.
“Yeah, I think we started well when Nahid Rana came. So I think he bowled really well. And yeah, the start we wanted, that was not achieved for the first game, but there are still two games, and as a team we’re ready for that,” Shaheen said at the post-match presentation.
“Yeah, I think when you [lose], there were a lot of points you want to mention, but I feel this is a young team and I’ll back this team till the end,” he added.
Shaheen then went on to term the outcome of the series opener as a “small reminder” for his side regarding the importance of partnerships in One-Day Cricket in both batting and bowling departments before reiterating that there were two more games left in the series and they are focused on them.
“I think just a small reminder for the team, I think just partnership building, and in one-day cricket, you need partnership, bowling and batting both ways. But yeah, there are two games, and we focus on the other game as well,” Shaheen concluded. Web Desk
