Pakistan batsmen make merry

By Vijay Lokapally

DHAKA, JUNE 2. The Asia Cup was over for Bangladesh tonight in terms of participation. None expected the home team to create sensations on the field and Bangladesh made a quiet exit at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here, losing its third match of the competition.

The victory margin, 233 runs, was the highest in one- day Internationals, the previous being 232 runs when Australia beat Sri Lanka at Adelaide in 1985. It was also Bangladesh's lowest, after its 92 against Zimambwe in 1997.

The home team was pitted against the formidable Pakistanis, who showed no signs of any jet lag, treating the match as a good practice session for the big contest on Saturday with the weatherman forecasting rain as a possible spoilsport.

It was expected to be a one-sided encounter and that is how it went, what with every Pakistani batsman helping himself to some handsome runs and Bangladesh failing miserably with the bat.

It must have been hard on Bangladesh which lost the toss, and also made a few surprising changes in the line-up. The players were distinctly slow on the field today and not as charged up as in the last two matches against India and Sri Lanka.

The Pakistanis were determined to make optimum use of the match to get into shape and adapt to the conditions. The ominous form of their batsmen must have alerted the Indians to the challenge tomorrow as Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul- Haq and Shahid Afridi timed the ball most pleasingly.

The task facing Bangladesh was compelling. How to contain the Pakistanis on a pitch which allowed the freedom to play across the line. The lack of pace and craft in the Bangladesh attack allowed the batsmen to adjust quickly and change the shots originally in mind.

Bangladesh's problems centred around the state of its bowling. In the absence of specialist bowlers, the move to include all- rounders did not work and the pressure increased once Mushfiqur Rehman and Khaled Mahmud sprayed the ball to come in for some caning.

Between them, Mushfiqur and Mahmud conceded 142 runs and there was a stage when the batsmen scored at will even off the regular bowlers in Safiuddin Ahmed and Anamul Hoque. The lone bowler to command respect from the Pakistanis was Naimur Rehman, who excelled with his off-spin.

The line adopted by Naimur was ideal but he was alone in his pursuit to contain the batsmen. The Bangladesh fielders too did not respond to their bowlers and a few dropped catches added to their misery.

Bangladesh certainly missed the services of left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique, surprisingly out of the line-up for this match, and the team management might well have rued the decision to ignore Hasibul Hossain or Monjurul Islam, both regular seamers.

The Pakistanis were never really troubled by the irregular bowlers and the runs for them came at a pace they desired. Anwar was in his elements, cracking a few rasping boundaries before he succumbed to Naimur Rehman.

Enterprising innings

Meanwhile, Man-of-the-match Imran Nazir and Youhana concentrated on scoring briskly. The idea was to try and get in some batting practice and set up a big target to enable the bowlers and fielders take things easy in the evening.

Nazir was quite enterprising in his innings, playing some rousing shots in front of the wicket, three of which sailed over the boundary. His effortless strokeplay was the feature of the Pakistani batting display.

Youhana was his sedate self, firm and sure, while Inzamam produced a few stunning shots, particularly the pull which he played with disdain, once smashing the ball straight with a flat bat. Afridi, too, joined in the party playing some robust strokes and the spectators could not have asked for more batting entertainment than what the Pakistanis dished out.

Incidentally, Pakistan's 320 for three was the highest total for a team in Asia Cup, erasing the earlier best, also by Pakistan, of 319 for five in 50 overs against the same opposition at Colombo in 1997.

Bangladesh offered no resistance, caving in meekly to the pace of the Pakistanis. In an effort to be ready for India, Wasim Akram and Mohammad Akram worked up a tidy pace with the left-arm great rattling the batsmen with bounce and speed.

A few aggressive shots from Habibul Bashar kept the spectators in good humour and it was a lost battle by the time the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Ms Sheikh Hasina, arrived at the stadium. A splendid catch at second slip by Azhar Mahmood had accounted for Javed Omar and a run out put paid to Aminul Islam's hopes of getting to show his batting potential. For Shahriar Hossain it was a pity he was unable to bat due to a hamstring injury. The rest of the Bangladesh batsmen did not measure up to the mark and Pakistan completed a grand victory.

Man-of-the-match Imran Nazir lifts Enamul Hoque, watched by wicketkeeper Khaled Masud, in the Asia Cup match in Dhaka on Friday. - Photos: V.V. Krishnan

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