Bangladesh thrash Pakistan by 8 wickets in ODI series opener:Nahid Rana, Tanzid Tamim help Tigers gain 1-0 series lead

Bangladesh thrashed Pakistan by eight wickets in the first ODI played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka, on 11 March. Chasing just 115 to win, Bangladesh got past the finish line in just 15.1 overs. Earlier, Nahid Rana scalped a sensational five-wicket haul that broke the back of Pakistan’s batting, skittling them out for 114 in 30.4 overs. Bangladesh gained a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with this commanding victory. Nahid Rana wrecks Pakistan with fiery five-wicket haul The Bangladesh bowlers completely justified their captain’s call to bowl first after winning the toss. Pakistan got off to a steady start with debutants Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat stitching a 41-run partnership. But since that, all went downhill for Pakistan as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Rana wreaked havoc with a five-wicket haul in seven overs, where he conceded just 24 runs. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz (3/29) bagged three wickets while Mustafizur Rahman (1/18) and Taskin Ahmed (1/29) got one each. Tanzid Tamim stars in easy chase Chasing 115 to win was never going to be a difficult task for Bangladesh unless Pakistan bowlers started out by taking a flurry of wickets. But that was not the case as Bangladesh openers Tanzid Tamim and Saif Hassan stitched 27 runs for the opening wicket. Tamim stood out as the best batter, scoring an unbeaten 67 off 42 deliveries, hitting seven fours and five sixes. Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi struck early, dismissing Saif, but after that, it was Najmul Hossain Shanto who joined forces with Tamim to put together 82 runs for the second wicket and that put the result beyond doubt. Although Mohammad Wasim Jnr was able to get rid of Shanto towards the end, the result was just a formality as Bangladesh got past the finish line with ease.