COLOMBO, July 29: Fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed ripped through Bangladesh's middle order to set up a comfortable six-wicket win for Pakistan at the Asia Cup on Thursday.
Both teams were looking for a morale-boosting end to their campaigns, having failed to qualify for the final on Sunday, but Ahmed's three for 32 ensured Pakistan controlled the match from the start.
Bangladesh were dismissed for 166 in 45.2 overs, a total that Pakistan eventually overhauled with ease despite the loss of four wickets, winning with nine overs to spare.
All-rounder Shoaib Malik top-scored with 48 from 56 balls, hitting eight fours, to overtake Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (278 runs) as the tournament's highest run scorer with 316 runs.
Opener Imran Nazir chipped in with 27 from 37 balls and Yousuf Youhana worked hard for his 39 from 80 balls, sharing a 66-run stand for the third wicket with Malik.
Bangladesh never recovered from a top order collapse that saw four wickets tumble for 12 runs as Ahmed trapped Habibul Bashar (10) and Faisal Hossain (0) lbw and Manjural Islam Rana (0) caught behind.
Shoaib Akhtar, who finished with two for 33, found the outside edge of Alok Kapali to leave Bangladesh in desperate trouble on 42 for five. Wicket-keeper Khaled Mashud helped Bangladesh avoid a complete humiliation, adding 33 in 54 balls with opener Rajin Saleh (23) and 43 in 107 balls with Mushfiqur Rahman (26).
Mashud's 94-ball resistance, which included five fours, continued until the end of the innings. He added 26 with Tapash Baisya and 19 for the last-wicket with Tareq Aziz before being bowled for 54.
SCOREBOARD
BANGLADESH:
Mohammad Ashraful lbw b Sami 0
Rajin Saleh c Younis b Razzaq 23
Habibul Bashar lbw b Shabbir 10
Alok Kapali c Younis b Shoaib Akhtar 3
Faisal Hossain lbw b Shabbir 0
Manjural Islam Rana c Moin b Shabbir 0
Khaled Mashud b Sami 54
Mushfiqur Rahman lbw b Shoaib Akhtar 21
Abdur Razzaq b Shoaib Malik 2
Tapash Baisya lbw b Razzaq 14
Tareq Aziz not out 2
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-2, W-21, NB-13) 37
TOTAL (all out, 45.2 overs) 166
FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-30, 3-41, 4-42, 5-42, 6-75, 7-118, 8-121, 9-147.
BOWLING: Mohammad Sami 8.2-2-38-2 (6nb, 9w); Shabbir Ahmed 10-2-32-3 (4nb, 8w); Shoaib Akhtar 9-1-33-2 (1nb, 4w); Abdul Razzaq 8-0-41-2 (1nb); Shoaib Malik 10-1-19-1 (1nb).
PAKISTAN:
Yasir Hameed c Manjural b Baisya 11
Imran Nazir c Faisal b Tareq 27
Shoaib Malik b Razzaq 48
Yousuf Youhana c Mushfiqur b Manjural 39
Younis Khan not out 16
Abdul Razzaq not out 16
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-1, W-4, NB-3) 10
TOTAL (for four wkts, 41 overs) 167
FALL OF WKTS: 1-35, 2-52, 3-118, 4-137.
DID NOT BAT: Inzamamul Haq, Moin Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed.
UMPIRES: B.F. Bowden (New Zealand) and P.D. Parker (Australia).
TV UMPIRE: A.V. Jayaprakash (India).
MATCH REFEREE: M.J. Procter (South Africa).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Shoaib Malik.
NEXT MATCH: Final, Sri Lanka v India, on Sunday. -Reuters
POINTS TABLE
Points table after the last Asia Cup Super League match between Pakistan and Bangladesh on Thursday (tabulated under played, won, lost, points, net run-rate):
