Pakistan breezed into the Super Eights stage of ICC T20 World Cup after they beat Bangladesh by a comprehensive eight wickets in the last league match in Colombo on Tuesday.

Opting to bat first, Bangladesh were brilliant and posted 175, their highest score against Pakistan. But their bowling department just could not complement the good batting performance and came a cropper. Bangladesh required to beat Pakistan by a margin of 36 runs to qualify for the next round, but then some lusty performance with the bat saw Pakistan reach the target with eight balls to spare.

Here are few of the hits and flops of the match:

Pakistan:

Imran Nazir: Call it his good luck or fate but Imran Nazir who played a brilliant knock to help Pakistan was dropped very early on in his innings. Nazir was dropped in the second over of the match by Abul Hassan off Shafiul Islam’s bowling. Nazir made optimum use of the opportunity and launched an onslaught. He scored his half century of just 25 deliveries, fastest in the tournament. He never allowed Bangladeshi bowlers to settle in the match and scored 72 of 36 balls including nine fours and three sixes. He was also involved in a 124 runs opening stand with his skipper Mohammad Hafeez.

Mohammad Hafeez: With Nazir on song at the other, the skipper played the role of an anchor. He batted sensibly and ensured that Pakistan do not lose wickets at the other hand. He scored 45 of 47 balls and hit six boundaries.

Yasir Arafat: Even though Bangladesh bowlers took almost all the Pakistani bowlers to the cleaners, Yasir Arafat bowled a beautiful line and length to emerge as the most successful Pakistani bowler. He returned with figures of 3-25 in three overs.

Flops:

Umar Gul: He is the most experienced Pakistani bowler and was expected to lead the bowling attack from the front. After a below par performance against the Kiwis, Umar Gul bowled irresponsibly against Bangladesh and was the most expensive bowler. He gave away 43 runs in three overs.

Bangladesh:

Hits:

Shakib Al Hasan: Shakib is considered as one of the best all rounders of modern day cricket and he showed why. Batting at number three position, he was the man who single handedly helped Bangladesh pile up their highest ever score against Pakistan. He scored 84 of 54 deliveries which included 11 fours and two sixes. This is the highest ever score posted by a Bangladeshi batsmen. With the ball, he was the only bowler who went for under six runs an over.

Tamim Iqbal: After a bad performance against New Zealand, the aggressive left handed opener got Bangladesh off to great start. He took the attack to the Pakistani bowlers and scored 24 of 12 deliveries before unfortunately getting run out. He hit five boundaries in his innings.

Flops:

Shafiul Islam: He was the most expensive of the bowlers. He looked completely off sync and gave away too many runs. He ended wicket-less and gave away 35 runs in 2.4 overs.

By Indian Sports News Network