The hosts At the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh got off to a fast start in the opening Twenty20 International of their current three-match series against Pakistan.
The Salman Ali Agha-led team was put through a lot in the first half of the innings after being asked to bat first; five wickets were lost in the first eight overs alone.
The scoreboard showed 41 for the loss of four wickets at the conclusion of the powerplay. The third batter to go was captain Salman (3 off 9 balls). After attempting to smash his bat wildly off a hard length delivery from Mustafizur Rahman over-the-wicket, Hasan Nawaz left for a four-ball duck. With the departure of the captain, the visitors’ situation deteriorated.
Dutch-Bangla Bank Bangladesh 🆚 Pakistan T20I Series 2025 | 1st T20I 🏏
Pakistan have already lost 5 wickets, and feeling the pressure.#BANvPAK #BCB #TigersOnTheHunt #BDCricket #HomeSeries #LiveCricket pic.twitter.com/xQQJp9IiUd
— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) July 20, 2025
Just as the Men in Green believed they had some resistance to give, Fakhar Zaman, who appeared to be the most at ease, too fell for 26. When Litton Das and Mahedi Hasan combined to run out Mohammad Nawaz, he was the sixth wicket to fall.
Fakhar was poised to reach his 12th half-century in T20I cricket. But as he tried to make a second run, Khushdil Shah trapped him in the centre of the pitch. This ultimately resulted in his demise. The top-order left-hander went out for 44 off 34.
After being knocked out for 110, Agha & Co. finished their innings in 19.3 overs. Mustafizur was the best bowler, even though Taskin Ahmed finished with three wickets (3/22 in 3.3 overs). In his four-over period, he bowled an incredible eighteen dot deliveries, giving up just six runs while taking a couple of wickets. At least ten dot balls were bowled by each of the six bowlers who were hired.
As of this writing, the home team has amassed 36 runs and lost two wickets in 5.2 overs. Towhid Hridoy and Parvez Hossain Emon are still in the middle, trying to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, and they need to win by 75 more runs from 87 balls.