Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 70 runs in first ODI

Pakistan easily crushed Bangladesh by 70 runs in the rain-curtailed opening match of the triangular series here on Sunday at the Sher-e-Bangal National Stadium.

Chasing 234 runs to win the match at their home ground, Bangladesh were restricted at 163 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 40 overs with a fighting unbeaten knock of 56 runs by their captain Mohammad Ashraful.

Other main scorers were opener Tamim Iqbal (29) and tail-ender Abdul Razzak (26 not out) while six players could not enter into double-figures and three of them were dismissed for nought.

Spinners Shahid Afridi and Wahab Riaz claimed three wickets each for 19 and 22, respectively while pacer Umar Gul tool two for 28.

Earlier, Ashraful won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first after the match was reduced to 40 overs-a-side due to rain.

Pakistan were all out for 233 runs in 39.4 overs after openers Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal gave Pakistan a solid start of 75 runs and later Butt and Mohammad Yousuf added 65 runs for the third wicket partnership.

Salman Butt made 70 runs with ten fours and Yousuf scored 59 with seven fours but after then no batsman could make any significant score except Misbah-ul-Haq, who blasted 39 off 22 balls with three fours and two sixes, and then the collapse began.

The last five wickets fell for just six runs as Bangladeshi pacer Aloke Kapali and slow left-arm bowler Abdul Razzak captured three wickets each for 49 and 35 runs, respectively, and Mashrafe Mortaza claimed two for 36.

Teams:

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Mohammad Ashraful (captain), Raqibul Hasan, Alok Kapali, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Dolar Mahmud, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain.

Pakistan: Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik (captain), Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul.