Pakistan captain Shaheen highlights area of improvement after Bangladesh triumph

MIRPUR: Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi stressed that the team needs to improve their batting in the middle overs following the visitors' 128-run victory over Bangladesh in the second ODI of the three-match series here at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Put into bat first, the Green Shirts got off to a blazing start as their opening pair of Maaz Sadaqat and Sahibzada Farhan put together a century-plus stand inside 13 overs.

The touring side endured a brief top-order collapse, but Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Rizwan reinstated them into the commanding position with a 109-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

But their back-to-back dismissals in the 39th over sparked a collapse, which saw Pakistan lose their remaining five wickets for just 43 runs in 57 balls, and they eventually had to settle for 274 all out.

Although the total proved sufficient for the Green Shirts to defend as they booked Bangladesh for a modest 114 in 23.3 overs following a two-hour-long rain hindrance, their captain, Shaheen, insisted that they would need to address the concern of losing wickets in clusters, especially in the middle overs.

"I think losing back-to-back wickets after a good opening stand is something we need to improve as a team," Shaheen said at the post-match presentation.

The 128-run victory marked an astounding turnaround for Pakistan after they suffered a heart-wrenching eight-wicket thrashing in the series opener, which made the recently concluded fixture a must-win for them.

"The last game didn't go our way. The simple message was to go and play your natural game," Shaheen shared.

The star performer of the match for Pakistan was emerging all-rounder Maaz, who backed his blistering half-century with economical bowling figures of 3/23 and was thus adjudged the Player of the Match.

Maaz's all-round brilliance also earned him special praise from the captain, who revealed the entire team was "pleased" with the youngster's performance.

"I'm really happy for Maaz Sadaqat — the youngster had a very good game, and the whole team is pleased for him."