‘Badon se accha toh bachhe khel rahe hain’ – Fans react as Pakistan defeats Bangladesh in close encounter to reach semis

At Willowmoore Park in Benoni, in a low-scoring thriller, Pakistan defeats Bangladesh by five runs to go to the semi-final. Bangladesh had to reach the knockout stages of the Super Six match by chasing a target of 156 in 38.1 overs, but Pakistan dismissed them for 150 runs. Pakistan thereby became the second team from Group A of the Super Six phase to reach the semifinals, behind India. The spinners from Bangladesh earlier performed admirably, dismissing Pakistan for 155 runs.

Ubaid Shah, the younger brother of the phenomenon Naseem Shah, was Pakistan’s hero. Ubaid took 5 wickets by giving 44 runs after bowling with fire, energy, and raw pace that rattled Bangladesh’s batting lineup on a hot and dry day. Mohammad Shihad James, Bangladesh’s last recognised hitter, was given an extra chance when Ubaid dropped an absolute sitter at fine leg with four wickets remaining and the country needing 37 runs to win. But Ubaid’s bowling saved the day.

Even though they emerged victorious in the end, Pakistan played a disappointing game throughout. Five batters reached double figures, but none of them scored more than 30 runs other than Arafat Mihnas. They were 89 for 6 at that point and appeared to be out of the game in less than 40 overs. In the end, they barely succeeded in going over that threshold.

‘Always thought we have to win this match’ – Ubaid Shah talks about his bowling performance post-match

As Pakistan clinched a beautiful victory over Bangladesh, the Player of the Match was Ubaid Shah. The 17-year-old kid made his entire country proud as he claimed a five-wicket haul. With an economy of 4.4, Ubaid bowled brilliantly to deceive the Bangladesh batters and as a result, they lost the match by five runs. After the match, the star of the day spoke about his bowling and how in a situation like this, he kept himself calm.

Ubaid said, “Always thought we have to win this match. We were tense but I wanted to keep myself calm and take wickets. After dropping the catch I thought I can make it right by picking up a wicket and I did it. We knew that getting a couple of wickets early would put pressure on them. There was bounce and worked with that, my second spell was important. Happy we got the results.”