By IANS,
Karachi : Pakistani pacers Abdul Rauf and Rao Iftikhar Anjum ripped through the Bangladesh batting line, bowling out the visitors for a paltry 115 in the final Asia Cup Super Four game here at the National Stadium on Friday.
Making good use of a strong breeze and a constant cloud cover, Rauf (3 for 24) and Rao (2 for 20) toyed with the Bangladeshi top order, and later off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (2 for 19) cleaned up the tail. The Bangladeshi innings was over in 38.2 overs in the dead rubber.
Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful had won the toss and elected to bat, but his side was in trouble right from the word go. Rauf removed opener Nazimuddin in the third over to bring them under pressure. Tamim Iqbal (26) and Ashraful (14) then tried to build a partnership but three wickets in quick succession brought them down to 49 for 4 in the 12th over. The Bangladeshis could never recover and lost their last nine wickets for a mere 67 runs.
It was the best display from the Pakistani bowlers in the six-nation contest but came a bit too late as they had already stumbled out of the race for Sunday’s final after losing against India and Sri Lanka.