The slow wicket at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium has always been known as a spinner’s haven. However, today, young sensation Nahid Rana defied that conventional wisdom, unleashing a storm of pace. Pakistan’s formidable batting lineup crumbled like a house of cards in the face of his incredible fast bowling.
The right-arm pacer single-handedly knocked Pakistan out of the match by claiming five top-order wickets within his first five overs. On the day of Nahid Rana’s maiden career fifer, Pakistan was bowled out for just 114 runs, marking their lowest team total against Bangladesh in One Day International (ODI) cricket.
Earlier on Wednesday (March 11), Pakistan, after losing the toss at Mirpur, opted to bat first. Although Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman bowled economically at the start of the innings, they couldn’t find any breakthroughs. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz brought himself into the attack in the seventh over, but still, no wicket fell. In the final over of the powerplay, Miraz replaced Taskin with Nahid Rana, and that’s when the ‘Rana Show’ began.
Immediately upon entering the attack, Nahid Rana dismissed Sahibzada Farhan (27), caught by Afif Hossain at point, with the last ball of his very first over. This wicket broke Pakistan’s 41-run opening partnership. The young pacer then created history by picking up a wicket in each of his next four overs. He sent Shyamol Hossain, Maz Sadakat, Mohammad Rizwan, and Salman Ali Agha back to the pavilion one after another, completing his maiden five-wicket haul (fifer) in ODI cricket. Rizwan and Salman virtually saw stars against Nahid Rana’s bounce and pace on the Mirpur pitch.
Following Nahid’s destructive spell, Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz inflicted further damage. He had Abdul Samad caught by Litton in the 19th over, then dismissed Hossain Talat and Shaheen Shah Afridi. This left Pakistan reeling at 82 for 9, facing the prospect of being bowled out for under 100. However, a defiant 32-run last-wicket partnership between Fahim Ashraf and Abrar Ahmed somewhat mitigated their embarrassment. Fahim Ashraf was the top scorer for Pakistan with 37 runs. For Bangladesh, Nahid Rana finished with figures of 5 wickets for 24 runs.