Bangladesh recorded a commanding eight-wicket win over Pakistan in the first One Day International of the series at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday, riding on Nahid Rana’s maiden five-wicket haul. The victory put the Tigers 1-0 up in the series.
Chasing a modest target of 115, Bangladesh cruised to 115 for 2 in just 15.1 overs. Tanzid Hasan Tamim starred with a rapid 67 off 42 balls, while Najmul Hossain Shanto contributed 27. Saif Hassan fell cheaply for four, and Litton Kumar Das remained unbeaten on three as the hosts sealed a dominant win.
The match was effectively decided by Nahid Rana’s sensational bowling performance. Pakistan was bundled out for a mere 114, their lowest ODI total against Bangladesh, surpassing the previous record of 161 set in the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
Nahid tore through Pakistan’s top order, dismissing the first five batters – Sahibzada Farhan (27), Shamyl Hussain (4), Maaz Sadaqat (18), Mohammad Rizwan (10), and Salman Agha (5) – reducing the visitors to 69 for five and triggering a collapse.
The right-arm pacer finished with outstanding figures of 5 for 24 from seven overs.
He received support from captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who took three wickets, and one each from Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman. Faheem Ashraf’s 37 came too late to salvage Pakistan’s innings.
Nahid’s effort was a landmark in his young ODI career. Having taken just five wickets in his first five matches, he claimed five in a single spell during his sixth game, all within his first five overs. He became only the second Bangladeshi pacer to record a five-wicket haul against Pakistan in ODIs, following Mustafizur Rahman’s 5 for 75 in the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
It was also the first five-for by a Bangladeshi pacer in Mirpur in nearly 11 years since Mustafizur achieved back-to-back five-wicket hauls against India in 2015. On home soil, the most recent five-wicket performance by a Bangladeshi pacer came in 2023 when Hasan Mahmud took 5 for 32 against Ireland in Sylhet.
