PAK vs BAN, World Cup 2023 Match 31: Awards List, Man of The Match, Key Stats, Presentation Ceremony

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PAK vs BAN, World Cup 2023 Match 31: Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday to keep themselves alive in the World Cup 2023. Pakistan chased down the 205-run target in just 32.2 overs.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, are no more in the semi-finals race. They have now lost six of their seven matches. Even if they beat Sri Lanka and Australia in their last two matches, they will finish with six points.

Being asked to bowl first, Pakistan bowlers did a superb job to bundle out Bangladesh for 204 in 45.1 overs. Shaheen Afridi (3/23) struck in the first over to become the fastest bowler to 100 ODI wickets. The left-arm pacer dismissed Najmul Hossain Shanto (4) in his second over.

Bangladesh were reduced to 23/3 but a 79-run partnership between Liton Das (45) and Mahmudullah (56) kept them afloat before Iftikhar Ahmed dismissed the latter in the 21st over. Shaheen returned to clean the stumps of Mahmudullah, and Bangladesh lost the plot completely. Mohammad Wasim Jr picked three wickets towards the end.

In reply, Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique (68) and Fakhar Zaman (81) came out all guns blazing. They forged a 128-run partnership off 127 runs. Babar Azam (9) but Mohammad Rizwan (26*) and Iftikhar Ahmed (17*) remained unbeaten to take Pakistan past the winning line.

Pakistan are back at fifth spot after the win. They can reach ten points if they beat New Zealand and England in their last two league stage matches.

PAK vs BAN, World Cup 2023: Full List of Awards

Man of the Match: Fakhar Zaman (PAK) for scoring 81 runs off 74 balls.

PAK vs BAN, World Cup 2023: Who Said What?

Fakhar Zaman (Man of the Match): After the Asia Cup, I practiced a lot on my batting, I was looking good at the camp and was looking forward to making it to the team. Today, my hard work paid off after I was given a chance. I told Abdullah that I will see off the first few overs, I knew I could hit big sixes.

My role is to make it easy for my partner, so it was important to see off the first few overs and then play my shots. NRR was in our mind after we reached 100, the aim was to finish it off in 30 overs. I had too many failures, I was looking towards such a knock and hopefully I'll make bigger scores in the next few games.

Shakib Al Hasan reaction after Bangladesh out of World Cup 2023

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh captain): Not enough runs, The wicket was really good, we lost early wickets again. There were some partnerships, but not big partnerships. Disappointing with the bat. Credit should go to Pakistan, the way they bowled and the way they batted in the first 10 overs.

(On his batting position) We'll have to think about that. We are not getting many runs from the top four batsmen. I was batting in the top four, I wasn't scoring. My confidence was low too. Luckily I got some runs, feeling better now. At this moment, changing too many things gets difficult. We have to keep moving forward.

We have to perform together. We need collective performance, which is not happening. Two more matches, hopefully we can bounce back. Everywhere we go, they (fans) keep supporting us. We have to give something back to them so they can smile.

Babar Azam reaction after Pakistan win vs Bangladesh

Babar Azam (Pakistan captain): All credit to the boys the way we played in all three departments. We know, if Fakhar bats for 20-30 overs, it's a different ball game, he played his natural game. Good to see him. We are trying to win the next two matches, we'll see where we stand.

We started well, the way Shaheen started. After 15-20 overs, they built a partnership, our main bowlers picked wickets. We picked wickets in the middle overs. (On Babar Azam fans in Kolkata) Thank you (fans) so much for supporting me and my team.