Pakistan stormed to a 37-run win against Bangladesh in the opening T20 international of the three-match series at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Hasan Ali, returning to the side for the first time in a year, claimed 5-30 to bowl the tourists out for 164 in the final over.
Having won the toss, the hosts amassed 201-7 with captain Salman Agha top scoring with 56, but the innings was not without its bumps.
Right-arm seamer Hasan stole the hearts at least on his return to the international fold, following injury troubles, having recently impressed in his country’s domestic Two competition, the Pakistan Super League.
“I have seen him work hard and put in extra hours, and it has all paid off,” his skipper said afterwards.
On his top score in the match, Salman added, “What mattered is that everyone contributed, and that’s how we want to play – everyone has to bat, bowl and field well.”
Pakistan, like Bangladesh, are looking to recover from the group-stage exits at February’s ICC Champions Trophy, a competition they hosted.
It couldn’t have been a worse start for the hosts, who also lost seven of eight matches in the recent white-ball series against New Zealand, as they were reduced to 5-2 after eight balls of their innings.
Mohammad Haris began the recovery with his captain Salman as the pair shared a stand of 51 for the third wicket.
Hasan Nawaz took that foundation on with the highest strike rate of the innings as he hit 44 off 22 balls in a stand of 65 – the highest of the innings.
Salman was the only batter in the match to reach a half century and posted 56 off 24 with eight fours and one six.
The fourth-wicket pair fell within 11 deliveries of each other, and the finish looked to be stuttering until Shadab Khan smashed 48 off 25 to pile the pressure back onto Bangladesh.
The allrounder’s end came off the penultimate ball of the innings as Shoriful Islam claimed his second wicket – the only Bangladesh player to claim more than one scalp.
A top-heavy reply from the tourists looked to offer hope of a series-opening win as the highest partnership of the match of 63 was shared between their captain Litton Das and Tawhid Hridoy for the third wicket.
The breaking of that partnership, with the score on 100-2 before Litton departed, was the beginning of the end for the chase.
Shadab Khan claimed 2-26 along with his ferocious tally with the bat to be named Player of the Match.
“My comeback to Pakistan colours wasn’t great despite my hard work, but my recent performances in PSL helped regain some confidence,” the Pakistan vice captain said, having lost his place in the side recently.
All the matches in the series are being played in Lahore, with the second game taking place on Friday before the series finale on Sunday.
“We didn’t bowl, bat and field well,” Bangladesh captain Litton said in his post-match comments, believing his team needs more consistency in “all areas of the game”.
“We have two more games, so we must come back strongly as a unit,” he added.
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