Bangladesh need 202 to win opening T20 clash

Salman Ali Agha led Pakistan to a strong total with a blistering half-century in the first T20I of the three-match series against Bangladesh at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday. After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Pakistan put up 201 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their 20 overs.

Pakistan had a shaky start as their openers Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman were dismissed cheaply, scoring 0 and 1 respectively. The team was in trouble early, with just five runs on the board in the first two overs. Skipper Salman Ali Agha then came to the crease and partnered with wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Haris to stabilize the innings. The pair added 48 runs for the third wicket before Haris was dismissed for 31 off 18 balls, which included four fours and a six.

Agha continued to lead the recovery and built another key partnership with Hasan Nawaz, adding 65 runs in only 32 balls. Agha eventually fell in the 12th over, scoring a valuable 56 off 34 balls with eight fours and a six. Nawaz followed soon after, contributing a quick 44 off just 22 deliveries, which included two fours and four sixes.

Vice-captain Shadab Khan then stepped up with an aggressive innings, scoring 48 runs with five fours and two sixes to push Pakistan past the 200 mark. Bangladesh’s bowling attack managed to pick up wickets at regular intervals. Shoriful Islam was the most successful bowler with two wickets, while Mahedi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain, and Shamim Hossain each took one wicket.

With this strong batting performance, Pakistan has set Bangladesh a challenging target of 202 runs to win the first match of the series.