Pakistan 'Banglawashed'

Posted on at


A fiery Soumya Sarkar century condemned Pakistan to a third successive defeat on Wednesday as Bangladesh whitewashed their rivals, winning the Dan Cake ODI Series 3-0.

Left-handed opener Soumya hit 127 in just 110 balls courtesy of 13 fours and six sixes as the Tigers romped to an eight-wicket win at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. He was duly adjudged the man-of-the-match.

Fellow opener Tamim Iqbal continued his fine form, scoring 64 off 76 balls courtesy of eight fours and a six, to make it a stroll around the park for the Tigers who successfully chased the target of 251 in just 39.3 overs.

Mushfiqur Rahim was also in excellent form, making an unbeaten 49, but World Cup star Mahmudullah failed to replicate his WC form yet again, managing only four.

However, he would hold no qualms about his dip in form as the team 'Banglawashed' Pakistan in style, giving the hosts no chance in any of the matches.

Earlier, visiting skipper Azhar Ali scored a century, but his fellow batsmen tamely surrendered before the Bangladesh bowlers as Pakistan were restricted to 250.

The right-handed batsman made 91 in the first wicket with fellow opener Sami Aslam (45) after winning the toss, but Bangladesh bowlers stormed back with the fall of the first wicket.

Shakib Al Hasan was the tormentor-in-chief, picking up two wickets, including that of Azhar, conceding only 34 runs in his 10 overs.

Azhar's 101 came in 112 balls as the batsman hit 10 fours before Shakib uprooted his stumps.

Up next, Mohammed Hafeez could only manage four, but Azhar and Haris Sohail (52) then added 98 in the third wicket. However, it was all Bangladesh afterwards as the visiting middle and lower order failed to cope up with the hosts bowlers.

Seven of the Pakistan batsmen had single digits to their name in a match that saw skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza use eight bowlers with only Tamim, Soumya and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim not taking the ball. 

Like Shakib, Mashrafe, Rubel Hossain and Arafat Sunny bagged two wickets each while Nasir Hossain picked one.

Tamim was named player of the series for his 312 runs, scored in an extraordinary average of 156.00. 

 



About the author

160