Win over Bangladesh a team effort, says Mohammad Hafeez

Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez has said that it was team effort that guided Pakistan to a comprehensive victory over Bangladesh in a crucial Group match on Tuesday.

It was a do-or-die situation for the Bengali Tigers, as at least a 36-run victory was required to make it to the next round. But the Mushfiqur Rahim-led side could not even challenge the Men in Green.

Batting first, Bangladesh took a wonderful start, as Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan hammered Pakistan’s bowling attack. The Cornered Tigers brought things back to normal late in the innings, and did not allow the opposition to go beyond 180. As a result,
the Bengalis could only pile up 175 runs in the allotted quota of 20 overs.  

In reply, Pakistan’s batting line-up performed magnificently. Imran Nazir returned to form with a blistering knock of 72 runs. Mohammad Hafeez also played well, and added crucial 35 runs to the total.

After the departure of both openers, Nasir Jamshed and Kamran Akmal finished things up in a great fashion. The Green Shirts stormed to the next round with a classy eight-wicket win.

Hafeez was enormously delighted over his side’s outstanding show, saying that every player contributed well. Taking in the presentation ceremony, he stated:

"It’s a great team effort, the boys have shown the right attitude so far in this tournament. Our bowler’s tried well but there is a little bit of a concern about the fast bowlers. But I am very happy as captain and the team are responding to me."

On the other hand, Mushfiqur Rahim was satisfied with his team’s decent show. He described that the pressure was huge on his side, adding that Shakib played superbly. He also uttered that the side has plenty of positives to draw out.

"The pressure was on us but Shakib played very well," says Mushfiqur Rahim "We can take some positives out of this and go home and work on a few things. We’re not used to playing on these wickets."

Pakistan are now due to meet South Africa, India and Australia in the Super Eight round. In order to qualify for the semi-finals, the Men in Green need to win at least two games.

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Sep 26 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry