Bangladesh Crush Pakistan by 8 Wickets as Nahid Rana Shines with 5/24

Bangladesh secured a dominant victory by defeating Pakistan by 8 wickets in the first match of the ODI series at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Young pacer Nahid Rana created panic in Pakistan’s batting lineup with his fiery bowling. The 100-over match ended in just 45.5 overs, as Bangladesh confirmed victory with 209 balls remaining.

Even before the match began, there were surprises at the stadium. It was the first international match of the year on home soil and also the first match after the national election. Youth and Sports Minister Aminul Haque was present at the stadium. Shortly after, Zaima Rahman, daughter of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, arrived to watch the game. The stadium atmosphere was full of excitement and noise, but once the game started, the spotlight was taken by Nahid Rana. His bowling turned Pakistan’s batters into ruins one after another.

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first. Although they started decently, Nahid Rana came into the attack in the 10th over and completely changed the course of the match. He took his first wicket in his very first over. Over the next five overs, he built tremendous pressure on Pakistan’s batting lineup, and eventually they were bowled out for just 114 runs. While chasing, Bangladeshi batter Tanzid Hasan ensured victory for the team with a blazing fifty.

Nahid Rana’s performance was extraordinary. In his previous five ODIs, he had taken only five wickets in total. In this match, he took 5 wickets for just 24 runs in 7 overs. This is the best bowling record by a Bangladeshi bowler against Pakistan in ODIs. Previously, this record was held by Mustafizur Rahman, who had figures of 5/75.

Pakistan’s four debutant batters also struggled badly. Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat had decent starts but quickly lost their wickets to Nahid’s intense bowling. Mohammad Rizwan was Pakistan’s main hope, but Nahid dismissed him with one of his best deliveries. In the following over, he also removed Salman Ali Agha with a short ball.

Nahid’s consistent bowling pushed Pakistan’s batting into complete collapse. He kept Pakistan under pressure for six consecutive overs. After a short break of one over, Pakistan’s innings ended at 114 runs with the combined efforts of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur. This is Pakistan’s lowest total against Bangladesh, previously their lowest was 161 runs in the 1999 Cricket World Cup.

Bangladesh began their chase quickly. Saif Hassan got out early, but excellent batting from Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto kept the scoreboard moving. Shanto scored 27 runs from 33 balls before getting out, while Tanzid reached his fifty in just 32 balls and remained unbeaten. Eventually Bangladesh secured victory with 209 balls remaining.

With this victory, young Bangladeshi pacer Nahid Rana was awarded the Player of the Match. The second match of the series will be played on Friday.