
Earlier this year, the Bangladesh team traveled to Pakistan for a T20 series, where they suffered a humiliating whitewash at the hands of the Men in Green. Now, Litton's side has taken to their home ground seeking revenge for that loss.
In the first match at Mirpur, the hosts displayed an outstanding all-round performance to secure a dominant seven-wicket victory, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
On Sunday (July 20), Pakistan batted first and set a modest target of 111 runs for Bangladesh. Chasing the target, Bangladesh clinched the win with seven wickets and 27 balls to spare. Imon top-scored for Bangladesh with 56 runs.
Bangladesh's chase of the easy target didn't start well. Tanzid Hasan Tamim was dismissed in the very first over, scoring just 1 run off 4 balls. Litton Das, batting at three, also departed quickly for 1 run. This saw Bangladesh slump to 7 for 2.
However, Parvez Hossain Emon and Towhid Hridoy steadied the innings. Relying on their bats, the Tigers managed 38 runs for two wickets in the powerplay. But Hridoy couldn't reach his fifty, getting bowled out after scoring 36 runs off 37 balls. Bangladesh lost their third wicket at 80 runs.
Maintaining his composure at the other end, opener Parvez Emon brought up his fifty off 34 balls. Zaker Ali provided him with excellent support. Ultimately, powered by Zaker's 15 runs off 10 balls and Parvez Emon's unbeaten 56 off 39 balls, the Tigers secured the victory with seven wickets and 27 balls remaining.
For Pakistan, Salman Mirza picked up two wickets, while Abbas Afridi claimed one.
Earlier, after losing the toss and batting first, Fakhar Zaman offered a catch on the third ball of the innings, but Taskin Ahmed dropped an easy chance.
After dropping Fakhar Zaman's catch in the first over, Taskin came to bowl and atoned for his error by catching out Saim Ayub in the same over. In the next over, Sheikh Mahedi sent back Haris, who had scored 4 runs off 3 balls.
Litton introduced Tanzim Shakib into the attack in the fifth over. Shakib dismissed Salman, who was caught out on the last ball of the over. The Pakistani captain scored 3 runs off 9 balls. Following this, Hasan Nawaz tried to hit Mustafizur Rahman over the top but was caught on the boundary line. This meant Pakistan lost four wickets for just 41 runs in the powerplay.
Mohammad Nawaz further disappointed the team on a day of batting collapse, getting run out in the eighth over. The left-handed batter scored 3 runs off 5 balls. This left the Men in Green in a batting crisis at 46 for 5.
However, Fakhar Zaman was holding one end and accumulating runs. But in the tenth over, he hit a straightforward catch to Mahedi. This time too, the Tiger spinner failed to hold onto it. Nevertheless, the Pakistani batter's reprieve was short-lived.
In the 12th over, despite calling for a single, Khushdil Shah refused from the middle of the pitch. On the other hand, Taskin quickly sent the ball to Litton, resulting in Fakhar Zaman's dismissal for 44 runs.
Subsequently, Khushdil Shah tried to steady the innings with Abbas Afridi, but he couldn't build a big innings, scoring 17 runs off 23 balls. Taskin Ahmed came to bowl the 19th over.
He caught out Faheem Ashraf (5) on the first ball, ran out Salman Mirza on the next, and caught out Abbas Afridi on the following ball. This saw Pakistan bowled out for just 110.




