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Dhaka (Reuters): Soumya Sarkar’s maiden century helped Bangladesh secure a 3-0 one-day series sweep against Pakistan after an eight-wicket win in the third and final match on Wednesday.
Chasing 251 for victory at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, the hosts cruised to their target with an unbeaten 127 from Sarkar and a fine 64 from his opening partner Tamim Iqbal.
Pakistan captain Azhar Ali (101) also hit a first ODI hundred but his young side imploded to be all out for 250 after losing their last eight wickets for 47 runs.
Azhar’s century was the first in ODIs by a Pakistan captain since Shahid Afridi scored 124 in Dambulla in 2010 against the same opponents.
The 30-year-old, returning to the ODI fold after two years, added 91 for the first wicket with 19-year-old debutant Sami Aslam (45) and another 98 for the third with Haris Sohail (52) before being bowled by left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan’s arm-ball in the 39th over.
In-form Tamim, who scored hundreds in the first two matches, continued his rich vein of form and the opening stand of 145 between the two left-handers put paid to any hopes that Pakistan had of avoiding another defeat.
Tamim fell leg before to left-arm paceman Junaid Khan but Sarkar continued to make hay, hitting 13 fours and six sixes, one of which took him from 95 to his first international ton.
Sarkar and former captain Mushfiqur Rahim (49 not out) breezed to the target with an unbroken stand of 97 for the third wicket from 70 balls to complete an emphatic win for the hosts.
al T20 side, with 50 wins in 85 matches and their players also dominate T20 records. The top three wicket-takers in T20Is are Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul and Afridi, and, of the three of the Pakistan batsmen to score more than 1000 runs in the format, two - Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez - are in the current squad
“At the moment, I am saying yes, the T20 team is better than the ODI side,” Afridi said. “Tomorrow will be a good game. I am not saying we will win one-sided. It will be a good game. T20 is all about opportunities, if you get one, don’t miss it.
“It is a new format now. Myself, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez are all back. It was good to see Hafeez bowling again. We have a very good combination in T20. I am very positive and confident that we will do well. I have to perform very well because my performance has always helped Pakistan. Everyone doesn’t need to give a lot of performance but if 11 players can give enough performances, it will help us win.”
Afridi, who arrived in Dhaka with the T20 specialists last Monday, said it was hard to prepare for tours that had only one or two T20 games but said the time was right for Pakistan to start preparing for next year’s World T20.
“It is hard, to be honest. You have just one match in the tour, you have to get the boys together,” he said. “But since cricket has become so professional, players can now adjust very quickly between formats. We are playing T20s against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
“The World T20 is also coming up, so we have to build a unit. Hopefully we can play a similar line-up in the World Cup and not make last-minute changes. As a captain, I will try to prepare a new captain for the future too.”
Afridi was happy with the discipline within the team but echoed the opinions of ODI captain Azhar Ali and bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed by stating that the current group of youngsters need more time to adjust to international cricket.
“The dressing room atmosphere is very positive. No doubt Bangladesh are playing very well at the moment. With our team, obviously if you don’t have three-four seniors and you are going with new talent - new guys with a new captain - it takes time to have a rebuilding process. I am hopeful that in a few months they will do well as a unit.
“Bangladesh have been using the same unit for a long time. There are many new players in this team so of course there is disappointment with the series loss, but your expectation has to be adjusted according to the current team,” he said. “This is the not the era of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Inzamam-ul-Haq. In 6-8 months, the more cricket they will play, the better they will become.”
Afridi said that despite their 7-0 win record against Bangladesh in T20s, they expect a hard game on Friday: “You don’t think about the past. If you look at it at the moment, the combination with which Bangladesh are playing, they are doing very well. We have to come hard at them tomorrow.”
