ASIA CUP

Pakistan pulled off a 21 run victory over a vigorous Bangladesh in the exhilarating opening

Match of Asia Cup on Sunday. Pakistan Team set forth the score of 263 before Bangladesh .

Hoewever,the hosts lacked the batting power in the end and got all out for 241 in 48.1 over only.

On the other hand the hosts gave a good account of themselves and also proved that they cannot

Be taken lightly in the tournament.Shakib and Nasir were going great arms together as the team.
Umar Gul broke the partnership by bowling Nasir in the 44th over.Shakib was the last man out

Pakistan scored 262 for eight after Mohammed Hafeez top-scored with a patient 89 and shared a 135-run stand with fellow opener Nasir Jamshed. Apart from Hafeez and Jamshed's brilliant batting it was Gul's strokeful unbeaten 39 towards the end that lifted Pakistan to a respectable total.

ShahdatHossain and Shakib Al Hasan  shared five wickets between them to help Bangladesh restrict Pakistani players, who were scoring briskly till the 30 overs.

Pakistan rode on spin trio of Hafeez ,Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi's brilliant bowling to open their campaign with a win.

Bangladesh's chase was guided by opener Tamim Iqbal's crafty 64 but the hosts could not make the best use of his innings. Iqbal along with opener Nazimuddin  and Jahurul Islam  shared two 45-run stands each for the first and second wickets.

Hafeez struck twice in two balls in the 29th over as he bowled Iqbal in the third ball and trapped Mahmudullah in the next to reduce Bangaldesh to 135 for five.

Shakib then joined hands with Nasir to take the fight to Pakistan. They made good use of third powerplay to set the tone for a close finish.

Earlier, Hafeez and Jamshed had laid the foundation by putting on 135 runs for the first wicket in just 28 overs but Shahdat Hossain (3/53) and Shakib Al Hasan (2/41) struck at crucial moments to help the hosts fight back into the match.

But Gul, somewhat, spoilt Bangladesh's plans with a brisk 39 off 25 balls.

Hoping that the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium would offer some assistance to his seamers early on, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim elected to field after the coin landed in his favour.

Jamshed was the more aggressive of the two as he found the fence five times, besides hitting a six. Hafeez was content to rotate the strike while hitting the occasional boundaries.

Bangladesh then made a spirited fightback and the breakthrough they needed, came in the form of Jamshed's wicket in the 28th over, when Mushfiqur ran the batsman out after receiving a throw from Shakib. Living up to the tag of being an unpredictable side, Pakistan suffered a collapse and, from 160 for two in the 33rd over, they were struggling at 198 for seven.