BOOM BOOM powers Pakistan to massive win

After electing to bat, Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi scored a breath-taking 124 from 60 balls studded with 17 fours and 4 sixes, enabling his team to reach its highest ever ODI score - 385/6, cruising to a 139-run win.

Pakistan’s new opening pair - Farhat and Hasan came out hard on the bowlers, scoring 70 in the Quick-Start overs and following that up with 23 runs in the Bowling Powerplay as they added 81 for the first wicket. Hasan made a quickfire 50 from 38 balls and after he fell, Farhat and Amin added 54 for the second wicket. But the Bangladeshi spinners slowed the game down and built up pressure, forcing the Pakistanis to go for strokes and wickets started to fall quickly. However, Afridi and Umar Akmal staged a counter-attack, adding 157 in 94 balls for the fifth wicket as Afridi blazed away to the sixth fastest ton in ODIs and the fastest in Asia Cup, well supported by Umar Akmal, who made a quick 50. Late order hitting from Razzaq and Kamran Akmal helped Pakistan amass 385/7, as they scored 129/3 in the Extreme Performance Overs, of which, 66/2 came in the Batting Powerplay. Afridi finished with a Batting Momentum of 306 while Shafiul Islam picked up 3/95 in his 10 overs, earning a Bowling Efficiency of 95.

Needing 386 to win, Tamim and Kayes got off to a slow start and just when the former was looking to accelerate, he was dismissed by Asif. Bangladesh made slow progress after that as they managed only 42/1 in the Quick Start Overs, followed by 31 runs in the Bowling Powerplay. Kayes and Siddique tried to repair the innings and it was crystal clear from their approach that they were conservative and looking to preserve wickets. The match drifted into wilderness as neither the batsmen looked to up the tempo nor were the bowlers aggressive enough to make the batsmen commit mistakes. Kayes and Siddique added 160 from 197 balls for the second wicket when the breakthrough was finally provided with Kayes’ dismissal and he was gone for a crawling 66. Siddique fell just 3 short of a hundred and Bangladesh were losing wickets and eventually finished on 246/5, scoring 53/4 in the Extreme Performance Overs, of which, 24/1 came in the Batting Powerplay. Siddique top-scored with 97, earning a Batting Momentum of 121 while Shoaib Akhtar was the best bowler in a listless bowling performance by Pakistan, finishing with an impressive 1/22 in 8 overs, earning a Bowling Efficiency of 109.

Pakistan finished with a Castrol Index of 251 as compared to Bangladesh’ s 113 completely outperforming them, though, Bangladesh did come close in the Extreme Performance Overs. SHAHID AFRIDI was named the MAN-OF-THE-MATCH for his whirlwind 124 with the bat and a wicket with the ball, finishing with an overall Castrol Index of 443