Nahid Rana rips through Pakistan to give Bangladesh emphatic victory
Nahid Rana (Source: X/@BCBtigers)
Published - 11 Mar 2026, 07:00 PM• Read time - 6 mins
Match Overview
Bangladesh played their first match against Pakistan after missing out on the T20 World Cup 2026. The teams began their three-match ODI series at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday, March 11. Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Pakistan, who fielded four debutants, opened with in-form Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat. The duo looked comfortable in the middle as they planned to see off the new ball, but just when they seemed set to form a substantial partnership Bangladesh struck courtesy fast bowler Nahid Rana who ended Farhan's stay. The 23-year-old pacer returned for his next over and removed number three batter Shamyl Hussain as Pakistan found themselves in a spot of bother at 47/2 in the 12th over.
The right-armer was not in the mood to stop as the Nawabgonj-born ripped through the middle order, leading to a collapse of the Pakistani innings. Rana picked up the first five wickets and completed his maiden five-wicket haul in the 18th over with Pakistan at 69/5. The visitors never really recovered as captain Miraz led the wicket-taking charge thereafter. Pakistan were ultimately bowled out for a mere 114 in the 31st over with Faheem Ashraf top-scoring with 37(47).
Bangladesh began their chase of 115 in earnest as the openers Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan added 27 runs in 15 balls before the former was dismissed by Afridi. Najmul Hossain Shanto joined Tanzid and the duo showed signs of finishing off the match in a hurry. Tanzid was the aggressor while Shanto kept the other end going steady.
Tanzid completed his half century, his fifth in the format, in just 32 balls and maintained the scoring rate. Pakistan looked clueless and listless as Bangladesh raced towards the target. The visitors, however, eked out a consolation wicket of Shanto (27 off 33) with just six runs to get. Eventually, Bangladesh won by a stunning eight wickets and 209 balls remaining to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Top run-scorer of the match
|
Player |
Team |
Runs |
Balls |
Fours |
Sixes |
Strike Rate |
| Tanzid Hasan |
BAN |
67* |
42 |
7 |
5 |
159.52 |
Top wicket-taker of the match
|
Player |
Team |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wickets |
Economy |
| Nahid Rana |
BAN |
7 |
0 |
24 |
5 |
3.42 |
Player of the Match
Nahid Rana
Rana produced a fiery spell of fast bowling. The young pacer came into the attack in the 10th over as a fourth-change bowler and produced a wicket in the first over itself. The lanky right-armer touched speeds of over 145 kmph which troubled the Pakistani batters on a deck which was assisting the seamers. All in all, it was a game-changing spell as Pakistan went from 41/0 to 69/5 in no time all because of Rana.
Turning Point
The introduction of Rana changed the game completely as the pacer generated enough pace to rattle the top and middle order. The fairly inexperienced Pakistani batters found the going tough as Rana dismantled the top five quickly to lead to a collapse of sorts. Eventually, Pakistan went from 41/0 to 114 all out and Bangladesh have Rana to thank for it.
What the captains said
Winning Team Captain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (BAN)
"Yeah, definitely. It was an excellent start. And yes, of course, it's after a long time we played ODI matches. It's been difficult to play and everybody handled the situation and hopefully I'm also confident about this series. (On Rana) Yeah, definitely. It was an excellent bowling start. First 10 overs we didn't take wickets, but Rana the way he bowled and the first over he took the wickets and then Taskin and Mustafizur, they bowled really well. Rana just kept the line tight, tried to bowl in the right areas and I just tried to inform him one thing. If you bowl in the right areas all the times [time], definitely it will be difficult because pace is there and definitely you know the conditions as well. And I think the wicket was excellent, but he read the conditions and he read the wicket right and just tried bowl to his length.
Losing Team Captain, Shaheen Shah Afridi (PAK)
"Yeah, I think we started well until Nahid Rana came. So I think he bowled really well. And yeah, the start we wanted, that was not achieved for the first game, but there's still two games to go and as a team we're ready for that. (On what could they have done differently?) Yeah, I think when you lost [lose], there are a lot of points you want to mention, but I feel this is a young team and I'll back this team till the end. Yeah, I think just a small reminder for the team, I think just building partnerships and in one-day cricket you need partnerships, bowling and batting both ways. But yeah, there's two games and we focus on other game now."
