Pakistan got off to a winning start to their 2016 ICC World T20 campaign as they beat Bangladesh by 55 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Pakistan’s batting made the Bangladeshi bowlers pay as their top three finally clicked.
Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez both got fifties and made up for the early loss of Sharjeel Khan. Shahid Afridi then promoted himself to No.4 and blitzed his way to a 19-ball 49, which included four fours and four sixes. Thanks to Afridi’s blistering cameo Pakistan posted their second-highest total in T20Is and set Bangladesh a stiff target.
Chasing 202, Bangladesh got off to the worst possible start as they lost their opener for 0 and couldn’t really get a big partnership. Sabbir Rahman and Tamim Iqbal, two of their best performers of the year, both got out in their 20s.
Shakib-Al-Hasan played a lone battle and finished as the top scorer of the match, unbeaten on 50. But it was Afridi, who picked up two wickets with the ball, who made the difference in the end.
Here are the best stats from the match:
0 – Before this match, Bangladesh had never lost to Pakistan in T20Is since the 2014 World T20. They beat them by seven wickets in April 2015 and in the Asia Cup as well.
1 – Shakib-Al-Hasan joined a unique club as he became only the second player after Shahid Afridi to score 1,000 runs and take 50 wickets in T20Is.
1 – Only once have Pakistan had a larger margin of victory than today’s 55 runs in a World T20 match. Their highest margin of victory is 82 against the Netherlands at Lord's in 2009.
2 – Shakib became the second Bangladesh batsman to score 1,000 T20I runs. Tamim Iqbal achieved this milestone in the previous game.
2 – This was Hafeez’s second T20I fifty of the calendar year. He had no T20I fifties in the two years before 2016 in 14 innings.
7 – The 95-run second wicket partnership between Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez was the eighth-highest partnership in T20Is against Bangladesh.
11 – This was Afridi's 11th Man of the Match in T20Is. No player has more than 9. In joint-second is Shane Watson and Mohammad Shahzad.
16.75 – Pakistan’s average opening stand of 16.75 in T20Is in 2016 is the lowest among all the full-member teams. Their highest stand this year has been just 33.
55 – Pakistan scored 55 in their powerplay, which is the most they have managed in T20Is in 2016. It was also their second-highest since the 2014 World T20.
90 – Shehzad’s average against Bangladesh in T20Is. In his three innings, he has scored an unbeaten century and a fifty in this innings.
201 – This is Pakistan's second-highest T20I total. The highest score of 203/5 was also against Bangladesh, which they scored in 2008 in Karachi.
413 – Sabbir Rahman has scored 413 T20I runs in 2016 and thus became the first Bangladesh player to score over 400 T20I runs in a calendar year. He is the 9th batsman to score 400 or more in a calendar year and he is now eighth on the list of most T20I runs in a calendar year.
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