World Cup 2023: Fakhar Zaman makes triumphant return in Pakistan's clinical victory over Bangladesh

Heading into Tuesday’s encounter at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, both Pakistan and Bangladesh were on the verge of being shown the door, the latter a little more so.

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Both teams had been going through a bit of a freefall after getting their campaign off to winning starts. Pakistan would go on to lose four in a row after beating the Netherlands and pulling off a record chase against Sri Lanka. Bangladesh had it even worse after a six-wicket victory against Afghanistan in Dharamsala, having lost every single match since.

On Tuesday, however, only one team produced the kind of effort that is suggestive of a team desperately trying to keep their campaign alive. By bossing Bangladesh – with both bat and ball – Pakistan not only got their campaign back on track but also showed signs of a team that could be nearing peak form just at the right time.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, just couldn’t arrest the downward spiral that had only gotten worse after being outplayed by the Netherlands at the same venue, and on Tuesday, became the first team to officially get eliminated from the race to the semi-finals even if they were out of contention a long time back.

Fakhar makes a triumphant return

It was one of those days where the Pakistan team functioned like a well-oiled machine, with all the departments contributing towards what turned out to be a clinical victory.

Shaheen Afridi did what he does best — cause early damage. The left-arm quick struck twice in his first two overs including trapping Tanzid Hasan for a duck that helped him become the third-quickest bowler to 100 ODI wickets. Haris Rauf got off to a shaky start after conceding three boundaries but managed to pull things back in his favour by getting Mushfiqur Rahim caught-behind for 5.

On a day when the spinners weren’t exactly at their best, as has been the case throughout the tournament, it was the pace battery that once again ripped through the opposition lineup after nearly helping the Babar Azam-led side pull off a miraculous victory over South Africa last Friday.

The key takeaway from the day’s proceedings, however, was the triumphant return of Fakhar Zaman at the top of the order with a 74-ball 81, forging a match-winning 128-run stand with Abdullah Shafique. Babar, and the rest of the leadership group, had finally run out of patience with Imam-ul-Haq after he produced just one fifty-plus score in six outings, and bringing Fakhar into the mix helped preserve the left-right combination at the top of the order.

The southpaw was in action for the first time since the opening week of the tournament and might have been a tad nervous early in his innings, collecting just three runs in his first 11 deliveries. All the nerves however, appeared to have disappeared into the inky night sky with a 95-metre six off Taskin Ahmed in the fifth over. Not only was it the shot of the day, it also helped Fakhar shake off the rust and get into the groove.

 

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Shortly after, Fakhar would use his feet to dance down the track and launch all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz into the stands past the mid-wicket fence before collecting a boundary each off Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam in each of the next two overs. Pakistan had raced past the fifty-mark after bowling Bangladesh out for a modest 204 and from thereon, it surely was their game to lose.

Fakhar’s body language would only grow bolder with each boundary that he hit, and it would become evident that he was the one controlling the pace of the innings instead of Shafique, the man who had replaced him in the XI for the Sri Lanka game in Hyderabad and had a lot more game-time.

The southpaw would continue using his feet against both spinners and pacers, smashing Taskin over long on after skipping down the track to bring up his half-century as well as the century partnership with Shafique. Taskin couldn’t help but sport a wry smile after the two sixes off Fakhar’s bat.

Fakhar was just as imperious in his backfoot play, which included an upper cut over wide third man off Shoriful, as he was with his expansive sweeps which yielded back-to-back maximums off Miraz, although it was that shot off the same bowler that would cut his inning short at 81 instead of the 100 that looked certain at one point.

“Credit to the boys, the way they played in all three departments. We know how well Fakhar plays when he’s going. Good to see him do it,” said skipper Babar, who had an off day with the bat himself, after the match.

Whatever little hope Bangladesh had of salvaging the game after getting shot out for a little over 200 lay in early strikes, including nipping the opening partnership in the bud, and hope those early strikes would cause panic in the Pakistani middle and lower order.

With a few hits to and over the fence, Fakhar stamped those hopes out for good and killed off the contest with a knock that not only has made him a fan favourite again, but will also have made him and Shafique’s go-to opening options for the business end of the campaign. Though the bowlers set things up nicely for Pakistan earlier in the day, the Player of the Match award was well-earned for Fakhar.