Bangladesh vs Pakistan 2nd ODI Highlights: All-Round Maaz Sadaqat Powers Pakistan To Series-Levelling Win vs Bangladesh

One all, one to play - That brings us to the end of a shortened, yet entertaining contest where Pakistan bounce back strongly to level the series at 1-1, setting up a thrilling decider. The final ODI will be played right here at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday, 15th March. The match will begin at 8.15 am GMT, and as always, you can join us a little earlier for all the build-up and team news. Until then, cheers and goodbye!

Backed themselves and played their natural game - Shaheen Afridi, the victorious skipper of Pakistan, says that the last game did not go their way. Adds that they did not bat well, but in this game, they backed themselves and played their natural game. Mentions that this was a better surface and playing four seamers worked well for them. Afridi says that the middle order still needs to step up, as they lost too many wickets in that phase. Shares that they are preparing for the World Cup, and is also very happy with the performances of Maaz Sadaqat.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Maaz Sadaqat wins the award for his excellent all-round performance. He scored 75 off 46 with the bat and 3/23(5) with the ball. He starts off by thanking the Almighty for his performance. After being asked about the shift of momentum from the last match to this one, he said that in the last match, they were asked to play their natural game and it worked very well for them. Maaz then continues that in the last game he was a bit nervous as it was his first match, but today his natural instinct just came along, and there was a bit of luck as well. On his bowling performance, he says that he is a batting all-rounder, and he has been working hard with his coach to get better.

Top order didn't get runs - Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the captain of Bangladesh, says they didn't execute well in the first 10 overs, but credits Pakistan for starting well. Shares that it was a very good wicket to bat on, but admits the top order didn't get runs for them. He reckons that they need to improve as a batting unit and take responsibility. On the run out of Salman Agha, Mehidy says Agha was away from the wicket, so he picked up the ball and hit the stumps. If he had missed his throw, Agha would have taken the run, so that's what he was thinking.

Pakistan dominate with the ball - Pakistan were right on the money from the very start. Shaheen Shah Afridi struck twice early to put Bangladesh under pressure, while Mohammad Wasim also chipped in with a wicket before the rain break. After the delay, however, it was the Maaz Sadaqat show as he picked up three wickets and ran through the middle order. Faheem Ashraf grabbed one, while Haris Rauf also finished with three wickets to his name, wrapping up a dominant bowling performance.

Pakistan falter after strong start - Earlier in the game, Pakistan showed a much-improved batting effort but failed to finish strongly. The openers set the tone with a quick 103-run stand, with Maaz Sadaqat bringing up his maiden ODI fifty. Salman Agha and Mohammad Rizwan then added 109 runs for the fourth wicket, with Agha reaching a fine half-century. However, controversy struck with Agha's run-out, after which Pakistan collapsed from a comfortable 231/3 to 274 all out. Bangladesh shared the bowling effort, with Rishad Hossain the pick with three wickets, Mehidy Hasan Miraz taking two, while the three pacers chipped in with one each and a couple of run-outs capped off a solid fielding display.

Bangladesh fold under pressure - Bangladesh's chase never really got going, losing both openers quite early and slipping further into trouble at 27/3 in 6.3 overs before rain and lightning halted play. After a lengthy delay, the ground staff worked hard to get the game going again, with the revised target set at 243 in 32 overs. Bangladesh started well after the resumption, with Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy adding a 58-run stand, but once Das fell, it all went downhill. From 73/4, the rest of the batting lineup failed to respond, crumbling under the rising asking rate and eventually being bowled out for just 114.

Pakistan force the decider - Pakistan have levelled the series in style with a fantastic all-round performance. They have managed to overcome their recent struggles in Mirpur, snapping a run of four straight ODI defeats at this venue and forcing a decider. The visitors learned from their mistakes in the first game, improving with both bat and ball to secure a commanding 128-run victory. However, amid all the positives, one of the major talking points will still be the controversial run-out of Salman Agha, an incident that is likely to divide opinions across the cricketing world.

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