Pakistan v Bangladesh - Asia Cup 2023, Super Four, Lahore

The presentation will be coming up very shortly on our ball-by-ball coverage page (link here). As we sign off, we leave you with words from Imam-ul-Haq and losing captain Shakib Al Hasan.

Imam-ul-Haq: "I would say not one of my fluent innings. We thought it was going to be a good batting wicket but it was seaming around so we were surprised but I have worked on my back foot game against spinners and I am happy with that. [On trying to score quicker for NRR] We discussed about it and we had a plan. We thought we can just chase in 36 overs and intentions were clear about it. We thought we had the chance and we were fortunate enough to close the match as early as possible. [On the pacers] They are remarkable and I just want them to bowl this way for the next two months."

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan: "We lost early wickets in the start and we played some ordinary shots. On a wicket like this we shouldn't lose four wickets in the first ten overs, but it happens. Our partnership was good, thought we needed to bat 7-8 more overs. Very poor batting display on a surface like this but we have to move on to the next one. They are the no.1 team and these are the reasons. They have three world class bowlers who are making things easier for them. We have been doing well in the bowling department but batting is a bit hot and cold. We need to be more consistently. I thought our three seamers bowled brilliantly. Like Pakistan, our seamers have been bowling very well in the last couple of years. But unfortunately on a pitch like this you can't get wickets unless batters make mistakes. [On playing in SL] When I played in LPL, pitches were a bit slow, wickets were a little up and down and that should help us. So hopefully we will do well in Colombo."

Urooj Mumtaz and Wasim Jaffer join us for a chat.

Imam couldn't get the job done, falling to a slog sweep against Miraz but Rizwan romps to a half-century and finishes on 63. Agha Salman getting a red inker will also give him good confidence.

The winning moment was a reverse sweep very fine from Salman. Pakistan win by seven wickets and pick up 2 points on the Super 4 points table.

A terrific way for Pakistan to finish the Pakistan leg of the 2023 Asia Cup.

Pakistan are set to win comfortably, that's not in doubt, unless something miraculous happens.

But how much gas to Pakistan want to put in this chase? The finalists from the Super 4 stage could very well be decided on NRR (like how Group B finished yesterday), so this should be an interesting mini game. Suspect the aim is to wrap it up by the 40th over, but 37-38 would be even better.

They will then fly back to Colombo where India await them on Sunday, followed by Sri Lanka on Thursday.

The opener has hit his fifth ODI fifty in last eight innings, and 19 fifties in a 65-ODI career! His ODI average is now 51+. Among current players, only Shubman Gill (only 29 innings), Rassie van Der Dussen, Babar Azam, Temba Bavuma and Virat Kohli have better averages.

He gets a moment to take a break as Rizwan gets treatment for cramps. May even have pulled a muscle while stretching way out in front to sweep the spinner. Here's hoping this pain is temporary. Rizwan had also cramped after taking a catch in the first innings. It was almost 40 degrees C this afternoon.

Rizwan was quick off the blocks, then got his scoring rate down, and is once again trying to up the rate but not connecting well. Nonetheless, he has been giving Imam Ul Haq the company the left-hand batter needs to inch towards a half-century. Imam has been made uncomfortable on numerous occasions but has managed to hang in here long enough. Now scoring has become easier for him too.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan chief selector, is also in attendance, watching the contest. Shakib, interestingly, is yet to bowl. Pakistan 104/2 in 24 overs

Spin for the first time after 18 overs, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz gets the umpire to raise his finger off an Imam LBW call! Imam reviews, and Bangladesh's poor luck with DRS continues, because that's missing leg!

Dramatic few minutes and Imam will have to wake up after this. That's the third time he's been hit on the pads and has just about survived. Pakistan 89/2 in 18.2 overs

ODI bowling ranking 42 dismisses ODI batting ranking 1 with a full ball outside off that sneaks in and gets an inside edge onto the stumps. Taskin Ahmed conceded just two runs in the first over of his return spell, and follows it up next over with Babar's wicket. That will lift Bangladesh's spirits.

Pakistan are still well placed at 74/2 in 15.3 overs with Imam on 36 and Mohammad Rizwan joining him at No. 4. The first ball Rizwan faces is an outswinger, so the ball is still doing something 16 overs in. With Waqar Younis exclaiming "excellent bowling, excellent bowling" on TV commentary too, you know Taskin is doing a lot of things right this evening.

Babar Azam is offering usual business motoring along at run-a-ball in his early days, but Imam Ul Haq has twice survived extremely close LBW calls. Hasan Mahmud and Taskin Ahmed made Shakib go upstairs for reviews but on both occasions the ball pitched marginally outside leg stump.

Bangladesh have thus burned both reviews, and continue to use their quick bowlers on this pitch. Pakistan 59/1 in 14 overs

Pakistan's openers never really felt settled, even though they batted nine overs. Partly due to the break, but also because of Bangladesh's seamers bowling in good areas.

And now, Shoriful Islam gets a full ball to snake in from off stump, and the ball goes past Fakhar's inside edge as he tries an on-drive. Hits his back leg, and a burnt review confirms Fakhar must go. Out for a 31-ball 20 and Bangladesh have Pakistan at 35/1 in 9.1 overs

Shoriful has a terrific record after 19 ODIs, with 30 wickets at an average of 24.93. The left-arm quick is fresh off a three-wicket haul against Afghanistan too, and always poses a threat when the new ball moves around. He also gets the first ball to No. 3 Babar whizzing past the outside edge.

Two light towers have gone off. That means we'll wait for them to come alive again, to almost full capacity, I would imagine.

Before that, Fakhar was very nearly out at first slip but the ball fell short of Naim. He's on 13 off 20 while Imam Ul Haq is on 2.

Great time to plug the August 2023 quiz on ESPNcricinfo: on unusual interruptions.

Update: Play restarts at 6.43pm, almost 20 minutes since it stopped.

Since scoring three hundreds on the bounce against New Zealand in May, Fakhar Zaman has made 19, 14, 33, 2, 30, 27 and 14 in his last seven ODI innings. He gets off the mark with a four through midwicket, and another boundary through square leg.

Earlier today Urooj Mumtaz said there's no need to worry about Fakhar's form at all.

Most wickets for pace bowlers in an innings in men's ODI Asia Cup:
10 - Pakistan vs IND, Pallekele 2023
9 - Pakistan vs BAN, Colombo 2004
9 - Pakistan vs BAN, Lahore 2023

Equally successful in Sri Lankan conditions and at home.

Here's Danyal with his thoughts on Naseem's spell (of two halves): "Pakistan want to wrap this bowling attack in cotton wool before the World Cup. Full stretch drives in blistering heat on the boundary to save one run is probably not quite what they have in mind.

But that’s exactly what Naseem Shah did, and walked off nursing his right arm, face contorted with agony. But while Pakistan assumed the worst, Naseem was quickly shaking off that knock.

Six overs later, he was back on the field, and four overs after that, he had ball in hand. Any concerns about lingering injury were quickly dispelled, he was faster in this spell than in the one with the new ball. There was even a shade more control, Shakib al Hasan fortunate twice to survive in the following over.

But Naseem has a reputation of cleaning up the tail, and needed just four balls. The one banged in short had venom – no holding back with the shoulder there. Three balls later, a full delivery at over 140 cleaned up the number 11, wrapping up an innings that had begun with such deep concern for the youngest man in Pakistan’s treasured trio."

Yikes, the past post was published just as Naseem Shah started to run in for his sixth over - and as it happens, Afif is caught out via a short ball. Shoriful gets a full ball on the stumps, and Bangladesh are 193 all out.

From 174 for 5, Bangladesh could add only 19 runs more. Nine wickets for the fast bowlers - Haris the best of the lot with 4 for 19, Naseem with 3 for 34 including a promising return spell after his injury scare. Faheem with important wicket of Shakib, Shaheen got Litton and Iftikhar picked up Shamim.

As for Bangladesh, it's all thanks to their two senior batters who scored 117 of the 193 runs. Against India, Pakistan failed to break a fifth-wicket stand for a long time, and today it appeared to be the case as well. But the incoming bowler Faheem got Shakib with a short ball, and they truly crumbled after that.

Haris Rauf: "Bowlers backed each other. We saw the conditions and chose to bowl according to it. (Plans) In Lahore, you try to bowl at the stumps because on a true wicket, giving width will cost you runs. (Equation with fellow quicks) The way they start with the new ball, it gives me confidence. It also gives me an idea of how the wicket is. I try to carry on from where they finish off. (194 target) The form our batters... think we'll chase it easily."

Mohammad Isam makes a good point here, but unfortunately, Haris Rauf is proving to be too hot.

Haris goes boom and boom in his sixth over, and Mushfiqur (64) and Taskin (0) fall in back to back deliveries. Both taken by the keeper, both seaming away from the respective bats of the right and left-hander. Mushfiqur played against his own template in his wicket delivery, trying to be aggressive against Haris.

Before that, though, Iftikhar Ahmed brought the curtains down on Mohammad Shamim's spunky cameo. Iftikhar had bowled three tidy overs of his part-time offspin, and was rewarded with a wicket in his fourth over.

That's four wickets gone in the space of nine overs, the first being Shakib's, and Bangladesh are hoping to get a score of 210, instead of the 250 that once looked possible. Only Afif, Shoriful and the No. 11 are left with the score 192/8 in 38

You wouldn't have said anything to Mushfiqur and Shakib if they were slow in their rebuilding, but they've been in such situations so many times, that it comes almost second nature to them. Both have moved at a brisk pace since Bangladesh were 47 for 4, with Shakib bringing up his 54th ODI fifty too.

The stand also touches triple digits but thereafter, Shakib has been caught out by a Faheem Ashraf short ball. Shakib falls to the trap as he fails to clear the fielder at deep square leg. Gone for a 57-ball 53 at the stroke of drinks and Bangladesh are 147/5 in 29.1.

Mushfiqur, currently three runs away from his 46th ODI fifty, now becomes even more important. He'll be happy to know that Bangladesh's lower order can hang in there for a while.

The two senior stalwarts, though, have provided the stability that Bangladesh are so desperate for. The run-rate has been good with Shakib finding the occasional boundary and Mushfiqur knocking it around. Both are in their twenties now, looking comfortable with the Pakistan bowlers' pace also dropping with the heat.

Shakib did give Naseem a caught-and-bowled chance in the penultimate ball of the 20th, however he has survived. Bangladesh 99/4 in 20 overs.

Some Pakistan fans are worried that this partnership (now 50+) can really go big.

... and that's because Naseem Shah is back on the field. And he can bowl anytime because he "suffered an external injury."

Let's see what sort of pace Naseem cranks up in his next spell. The management wouldn't have risked bringing him back on if they didn't believe his shoulder and arm is fine.

Naseem is currently being assessed to ascertain the extent of the damage, and the precise location of any injury, if any. He is currently practicing his bowling release near the boundary line with the physio keeping track of his arm movements.

Any decision on Naseem’s further involvement in the tournament will have to be made relatively quickly, with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka all leaving Lahore for Colombo on the same chartered flight on Thursday. The remainder of the tournament will be held in the Sri Lankan capital.

Second over for Haris. Second wicket for Haris.

Pace merchants can rejoice as he gets a full ball to tail in from off and go through young Towhid Hridoy's defense. Big gap left as he tried to clip Haris through the leg side.

Pakistan have already entered Bangladesh's middle and lower-middle order, and the batting powerplay isn't even done.

Pakistan are running away in this contest, but they'll truly be relaxed when this senior pair of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan is separated. Bangladesh in big trouble at 47/4 in 9.3 overs

Takes him just three balls to get a wicket, and that is Haris' 50th scalp in ODIs! Came around the wicket and got a short ball to angle into Naim, and the 140kph+ delivery combined with the stranglehold of a line has forced Naim to mistime a pull. Sliced high up and, hey, it's Haris himself who calls for a catch. Bangladesh 45/3 in 7.3 with Bangladesh losing another set batter.

Oh, this is terrible if you're a Pakistan fan. Naseem Shah gives the ball a chase at fine leg, and then slides along the ground to stop the boundary. Despite the 100% commitment though, the ball goes for four, but the big question is: is Naseem fine?

Naseem doesn't move his arms for a whole minute, and the worry is that he's injured his right shoulder or arm while giving it his all.

This could be disastrous for Pakistan in their build-up to the ODI World Cup. Naseem has left the field by holding his right arm after the physio attempts a couple of "extension" tests on his arm. Haris Rauf is introduced early after seven overs with Bangladesh 44/2

He's been in and out of the team for the last few years, but a seam-bowling allrounder who is more than just a 'handy' batter is the kind of player Pakistan would love to have in their set up, even if the fast bowlers all somewhat bat.

And Faheem's inclusion today is an indication that he's a definite frontrunner for the usually flat batting surfaces that we'll see in India at the ODI World Cup. Urooj Mumtaz, the expert, dives deeper in our match show.

Shaheen serves a reminder that he's not just a swing-ball bowler when it comes to the new ball. After realising that Litton loves to play on the front foot, Shaheen shortens his length and gets a ball to angle away. Litton gets tempted to flay a cut, and all he can do is get a thick edge behind. A promising innings ends too quickly, and Bangladesh are 31/2 in 4.5 overs.

Both Naseem and Shaheen now have an entry on the wickets column, and Bangladesh must rely on Naim and the No. 4 Shakib to get themselves out of a hole.

Naim and Litton are living up to the "super four" tag of this game. Boundary after boundary after boundary in the second overs delivered by Naseem and Shaheen. Naim hacks boundaries on both sides of the pitch but Litton does what he's become famous for, smacking those exquisite cover drives that sound oh-so-sweet!

Up one day, down the next - no this isn't Pakistan we are talking about, but Bangladesh batter Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

After seeing Mohammad Naim play a maiden over off Shaheen Shah Afridi's bowling, Mehidy opts to flick the first ball from Naseem through the leg side, only to find the square-leg fielder lurking. Just the start Bangladesh did not want - and they continue to struggle in finding a solid opening stand.

Litton Das in at No. 3 with Bangladesh 4/1 in two overs.

Bangladesh will hope that the early wicket was a mere aberration. Even though they have never beaten Pakistan in Pakistan in 19 international games, Bangladesh have, in fact, won 4 of their last 5 ODIs against Pakistan.

Shakib Al Hasan wins the toss and says that the heat is a factor in Bangladesh choosing to bat first.

That means Pakistan will have to slog it out in the field with the sun baking on this hot day. Babar says there are plans to look after the bowlers. Its a definite factor to consider since Pakistan are travelling a lot between games and playing a lot of ODI cricket.

Bangladesh will definitely miss Shanto though. He made 89 against Sri Lanka and pumped a century against Afghanistan. However, Litton Das is someone Bangladesh desperately want, and he is the kind of batter who can get on top of the best in the business, something Bangladesh need against this Pakistan fast-bowling trio.

The broadcasters suggest this is a bat-first surface - who are we to disagree? There's also some extra grass on the pitch, so that could also be a factor in the Faheem v Nawaz choice.

Pakistan announced yesterday that Faheem Ashraf, the seam-bowling allrounder, will replace Mohammad Nawaz in the Pakistan XI. One reason could be that Lahore doesn't spin as much as Sri Lankan surfaces, but the other reason is.... ⬇️

Aamer Sohail on broadcast says "Pakistan will find a fourth seamer useful in Lahore."