Pakistan v Hong Kong, Group B, Asia Cup, Karachi

All-round Tanvir shines in 155-run win

June 24, 2008

Pakistan 288 for 9 (Younis 67, Alam 63*, Tanvir 59, Nadeem 4-51) beat Hong Kong 133 by 155 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Sohail Tanvir's maiden ODI half-century bailed Pakistan out of a precarious 161 for 7 © AFP

The final scoreline might indicate an emphatic victory for Pakistan but it needed an Asia Cup-record 100-run eighth-wicket stand between Sohail Tanvir and Fawad Alam to set up the win. Both of them made their maiden ODI half-centuries to lift Pakistan to 288, a score which proved well beyond the reach of Hong Kong's inexperienced batsmen.

After Pakistan chose to bat on a blisteringly hot day in Karachi, Nadeem Ahmed, the Hong Kong left-arm spinner, sliced through the Pakistan middle-order as what was expected to be a straightforward opening encounter for the hosts threatened to become a tricky one before Tanvir and Alam's rescue act.

Pakistan were at a precarious 161 for 7 when Tanvir and Alam started working the singles, effectively employing the sweep shot. The left-arm spinners initially kept them in check and the partnership gained impetus only after the 44th over, when Pakistan had progressed to a more reassuring 219.

Tanvir raced to his fifty as a confident reverse-sweep, a conventional sweep and a powerful off-drive all fetched him boundaries. He holed out to long-off in the 47th but Alam, who had been subdued during the partnership, remained unbeaten to ensure the runs kept flowing and that his side weren't bowled out.

Hong Kong had earlier got off to a dream start as Pakistan lost their in-form opener Salman Butt in the first over for a duck. Afzaal Haider, the 36-year-old seamer, shaped the first two deliveries into the left-hander, before getting the next one to move away, inducing the outside edge. On a pitch a bit on the slower side, Haider extracted a hint of movement and troubled Shoaib Malik, who opened the innings, and Younis Khan early on.

With Pakistan on a scratchy 33 for 1 after eight overs, some loose bowling in the next couple of overs let them off the hook. Thirty runs came off them as a flurry of boundaries from Malik gave the innings momentum. He fell soon after to an athletic catch by Hussain Butt at backward point but with Younis getting into his stride and Mohammad Yousuf continuing his splendid form, Pakistan were in command at 121 for 2 after 19.

Left-arm spinner Najeeb Amar bowled it flat and full to restrict the runs at one end while Nadeem was more adventurous, varying his flight and length. He was rewarded with the wicket of Mohammad Yousuf - top-edging a sweep. Younis continued to attack, impudently slog-sweeping Nadeem for six and then paddling him for four. Despite the batsmen's attacking mindset, Nadeem flighted the next ball and Younis, who danced down the track, was beaten by the turn and easily stumped.

	Nadeem Ahmed sliced through the middle order with 4 for 51 to give Hong Kong hope © AFP

There was more joy for Nadeem as Misbah-ul-Haq failed to read a straighter one to be lbw. Another flighted delivery foxed Shahid Afridi, who checked his shot to offer a low return catch, and Sarfraz Ahmed was run out soon after as Pakistan slid to 161 for 7. An upbeat Hong Kong had eight fielders in the ring at this stage but things went all downhill from there.

Faced with an intimidating target, Hong Kong's batsmen were all at sea against Pakistan's formidable fast bowling unit as they were unable to force the pace. A barrage of bouncers, especially from Umar Gul, discomforted the openers but they hung around for a while. Tabarak Dar dodged a snorter from Gul off the penultimate ball of the seventh over but was forced to retire hurt when he was hit on the jaw off the final ball.

That triggered a collapse, with four wickets falling in quick succession. Opener Skhawat Ali was the first to go, pulling Tanvir to substitute Mansoor Amjad at fine leg. Iftikhar Anjum then struck with his first delivery, bowling Irfan Ahmed before Tanvir got his second with a middle-stump yorker to send back Courtney Kruger.

Anjum was soon rewarded again for his wicket-to-wicket line as Hussain Butt became the next batsman to be bowled, leaving Hong Kong at a hopeless 45 for 4. With the spinners backing up the good work of the fast bowlers, the run-rate quickly shot up above eight, and the match meandered towards a foregone conclusion.

Pakistan may have had some anxious moments but will be pleased with the manner in which their lower-middle order pulled them out of a dicey situation ahead of a tough encounter against arch-rivals India, on Thursday.

Bangladesh v UAE, Group A, Asia Cup, Lahore

Ashraful and Raqibul set up easy win

June 24, 2008

Bangladesh 300 for 8 (Ashraful 109, Raqibul 83) beat UAE 204 (Khan 78, Razzak 3-20) by 96 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Mohammad Ashraful played a conservative knock by his standards to help Bangladesh to an imposing 300 © AFP

Led by an unusually cautious century from Mohammad Ashraful, the second of his career, Bangladesh cruised to a 96-run win over UAE in their Asia Cup opener in Lahore. Ashraful was supported by Raqibul Hasan, who made his second-successive 80-plus knock as the pair put on 141 off 122 balls before the left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak sealed the win, in the process becoming the third Bangladeshi bowler to take 100 wickets.

The UAE seamers had a tough time settling in after Bangladesh chose to bat, conceding six wides in the first two overs. Bangladesh did not make use of the freebies, however, as the over-eager Nazimuddin flirted with a perfectly-bowled outswinger from Zahid Shah. Ashraful, off the very next ball, had a lucky escape when an inside edge missed the stumps. He had two more slices of luck but the signs were ominous when he latched on to a short delivery from Amjad Javed.

Meanwhile, Tamim Iqbal, who'd struggled to get going, flicked Fahad Alhashmi to the fine-leg boundary to bring up Bangladesh's fifty and move into double figures. Ashraful then played a copybook extra cover drive against the wayward Javed to bring up the fifty-run stand.

The introduction of spin slowed things down but UAE missed a trick in not using offspinner Mohammad Tauqir after he conceded only six runs off three overs. Against the run of play, Tamim failed to heed Ashraful's call to avoid an unnecessary third run in the 24th over. As though venting his frustration at the run out, Ashraful played a stunning inside-out shot to reach his half-century, followed by another scorcher to the extra cover boundary off Shadeep Silva, though it grazed the hands of the cover fieldsman.

Raqibul, who batted with verve, made his intentions clear by lofting the left-arm spinner, Khurram Khan, one bounce to long-on. Ashraful then hit two successive boundaries against the same bowler, and ran sharp singles and twos with Raqibul as he moved from 73 to 100 without the aid of a boundary.

Raqibul, though, was aggressive, taking three boundaries apiece against Khurram and legspinner Arshad Ali as he picked up 27 from nine balls. He missed out on a golden opportunity to reach his maiden ton, however, when a top-edged pull sailed to the 'keeper Amjad Ali; UAE could have picked up two in two had Javed held on to a catch off Ashraful at long leg. Ashraful was run out soon after and was one of four wickets to fall in quick time. Dollar Mahmud ensured that they did not muddle up the finish, making 20 off 9 to take Bangladesh to their highest score away from home.

Five stats Bangladesh's total of 300 is their second-highest score in ODIs, just one run less than the 301 they scored against Kenya in Bogra in March 2006. The 141-run stand between Ashraful and Raqibul Hasan is the highest for the third wicket in ODIs for Bangladesh. Khurram Khan's 78 is the second-highest score by a UAE batsman in ODIs, six short of Saleem Raza's 84 in the 1996 World Cup. With the wicket of Khurram, Abdur Razzak became the third Bangladesh bowler to take 100 ODI wickets, after Mohammad Rafique and Mashrafe Mortaza. Razzak was playing his 69th ODI; only three other spinners have been quicker to 100 wickets. Raqibul's 83 is his third half-century in nine innings, and just six short of his highest score.

Javed gave UAE a flying start by taking ten runs off the first over bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza, hitting the first ball of the innings to the cover boundary before striking him over long-on in the sixth. But Mortaza had his revenge when he induced a top-edge from Javed, which was pouched by Tamim. Indika Batuwitarachichi lasted only two balls, trapped by Shahadat Hossain.

The two Ali's, Arshad and Amjad did not let the early wickets faze them and took the attacking route. Amjad was particularly impressive, twice driving the ball through the covers and once straight down the ground, but the shot which stood out was a flick off Mashrafe to the midwicket boundary which had a Caribbean flair to it. Arshad almost matched that stroke with a powerful pull off Shahadat. The duo had raised 32 off 28 balls, but their promising stand was stalled when Razzak, introduced in the ninth over, got Amjad to edge to first slip with his first ball.

Arshad kept up the fight, punishing a couple of short balls from Mahmud. But when spin was introduced at both ends, UAE found the runs hard to come by. Mahmudullah, bowling quickish offbreaks, then accounted for UAE's captain, Saqib Ali, who cut him uppishly to Shahadat at backward point.

Khan survived a couple of close lbw appeals, but got going by striking Mahmudullah for a couple of attractive boundaries, one to long-on and then past extra-cover. The 47-run fifth-wicket stand between Khan and Arshad ended when Arshad mis-hit Mahmudullah to Raqibul at midwicket. With wickets falling at regular intervals, Khan let loose a barrage of aggressive strokes. He reached his maiden half-century in the 38th over bowled by Mahmud, during which a misdirected throw from Ashraful gave him four additional runs. After Khan holed out to Razzak, Alok Kapali helped himself to a couple of wickets to seal the result.