World Cup: Bangladesh first to be eliminated from semi-finals race

Bangladesh lost to Pakistan by seven wickets in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Tuesday (October 31) to become the first team to crash out of the semi-finals’ race in the ongoing Cricket World Cup.

This was Bangladesh’s sixth successive loss in the tournament and leaves them in ninth position, just ahead of England, in the points table. The only win for Bangla Tigers came in the first match against Afghanistan in Dharamsala.

Batting first, Bangladesh struggled against Pakistan bowling, getting bowled out for just 204 runs. Mahmudullah top-scored with 56 runs while Litton Das made 45 and skipper Shakib al Hasan scored 43.

Pace bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi (3/23) and Mohammed Wasim (3/31) were the chief wicket-takers for Pakistan. Haris Rauf, another fast bowler, took 2/36.

In response, Pakistan started off with a century stand between Abdullah Shafique (68 off 69 balls) and Fakhar Zaman (81 off 74 balls). The two put on 128 in 21 overs. Zaman, who replaced Imam-ul-Haq batted aggressively hitting seven sixes.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam failed, scoring just nine.

This was Pakistan’s third win in the tournament and ended a series of losses in the last four matches. It also kept their slim chances of making the semi-finals alive and moved them to fifth in the points table with six points, ahead of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

They now play New Zealand and England in the last two matches. Bangladesh face Sri Lanka and Australia.

Cricket, Bangladesh, World Cup, Pakistan, Kolkata, India