Nahid Rana’s maiden fifer powers Tigers to dominant win over Pakistan

A stunning five-wicket haul from Nahid Rana guided Bangladesh to a commanding eight-wicket victory over Pakistan in the opening ODI, giving the hosts a 1–0 lead in the series at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday.

Bangladesh secured a comfortable win after chasing down a modest target of 115, reaching 115 for 2 in just 15.1 overs.

Tanzid Hasan Tamim led the chase with a blistering 67 off 42 balls, while captain Najmul Hossain Shanto contributed 27 runs. 

Saif Hassan fell early for 4, and Litton Das remained unbeaten on 3 as the Tigers wrapped up the chase with ease.

The victory was set up earlier by a sensational bowling display from pacer Nahid Rana, who dismantled Pakistan’s top order with his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs.

Pakistan were bowled out for just 114; their lowest ODI total against Bangladesh, breaking their previous lowest of 161 set during the 1999 World Cup.

Nahid struck repeatedly to remove Pakistan’s first five batters, a first in Bangladesh’s ODI history. His victims included Sahibzada Farhan (27), Shamyl Hussain (4), Maaz Sadaqat (18), Mohammad Rizwan (10) and Salman Agha (5), leaving Pakistan reeling at 69 for 5 and triggering a collapse.

The right-arm pacer finished with impressive figures of 5 for 24 in seven overs. 

Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz provided strong support with three wickets, while Taskin Ahmed claimed one.

A late fightback from Faheem Ashraf, who scored 37, briefly steadied Pakistan but was not enough to prevent a heavy defeat.

Nahid’s spell marked a major milestone in his young ODI career. He had taken only five wickets in his first five matches, but in his sixth appearance he struck five times within his opening five overs.

He also became only the second Bangladeshi bowler to take a five-wicket haul against Pakistan in ODIs, after Mustafizur Rahman’s 5 for 75 during the 2019 World Cup.

The feat was also the first five-wicket haul by a Bangladeshi pacer at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in nearly 11 years. 

The previous instance came in 2015 when Mustafizur Rahman claimed back-to-back five-fors against India. On home soil, the last such performance by a Bangladeshi pacer was in 2023 when Hasan Mahmud took 5 for 32 against Ireland in Sylhet.

SH