London: Left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi (6/35) produced the best ever figures by a Pakistan bowler in a World Cup as the Men in Green bowled out Bangladesh for 221 scripting a comprehensive 94-run victory in their final WC group fixture here, Friday.
It was after ton-up Imam-ul-Haq (100, 100b, 7×4) and Babar Azam (96, 98b, 11×4) shared a 157-run stand to guide Pakistan to 315/9. Shakib Al Hasan (64, 77b, 6×4), who replaced Rohit Sharma as the top run-getter in this edition (so far) with 606 runs, was the top scorer for the losing side, who were bundled out in 44.1 overs.
As a result, Pakistan finished their campaign fifth in the 10-team standings with 11 points, having five wins, three defeats and one game being abandoned. Bangladesh, on the other hand, finished seventh with seven points.
Earlier, Imam struck his seventh ODI century while Babar missed out on his hundred as Pakistan tried hard to get past the 350-run mark but failed in the end despite Imad Wasim’s (43, 26b, 6×4, 1×6) whirlwind knock.
Mustafizur Rahman (5/75) took a second consecutive five-wicket haul and was Bangladesh’s best bowler along with Mohammad Saifuddin (3/77).
Pakistan needed to win the toss and bat first in order to still dream of achieving the improbable. After, Fakhar Zaman was dismissed early, Babar and Imam milked the Bangladesh bowlers before Babar was trapped in front.
Imam with Mohammad Hafeez (27) stitched 66 runs. But once Imam got out hit wicket, wickets kept falling at regular intervals, before Imad took Pakistan past 300-run mark.
Brief scores: Pakistan 315/9 (Imam-ul-Haq 100, Babar Azam 96; Mustafizur Rahman 5/75) bt Bangladesh 221 (Shakib Al Hasan 64; Shaheen Afridi 6/35) by 94 runs.
