Pakistan tour of Bangladesh: How things unfolded the last three times

Both Pakistan and Bangladesh are cricket loving nations and matches between these two countries are very eagerly anticipated. Previously, Pakistan has dominated Bangladesh. However, in recent times, we have seen Bangladesh improve and even triumph over Pakistan. From devastating losses, they have bounced back to beat Pakistan on the big stage. Before Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh begins, take a look-back on how things have unfolded the last few times these teams met.



Asia Cup, June 2018



This was a historic win for Bangladesh. Coming into the match having suffered a severe defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka less than a day ago, the Bangladeshi women showed true character to stun Pakistan. Courtesy of a disciplined bowling display that restricted Pakistan to 95-5, Bangladesh went into the second innings with the upper hand. Their batters then got the job done with 13 balls to spare, as the team cruised to victory.



Spinner Nahida Akhter was impressive with the ball for Bangladesh, taking two wickets- those of both openers- while leaking just 23 runs. Also impressive with the ball were Fahima Khatun and Rumana Ahmed. They both bowled economically and bagged a wicket each. Their efforts meant that none of the Pakistani batters crossed the 20 run mark apart from Sana Mir, who finished on 21*.



The Bangladeshi batters then kept their cool to see their team home. With their side wobbling at 2-25, Nigar Sultana and Shamima Sultana combined for a 35 run partnership, before the latter fell for 31. Fahima Khatun then supported N. Sultana to steer their team to their first ever Twenty-20 win over Pakistan. The two batters finished with scores of 23* and 31* respectively. F. Khatun was given the Player of the Match honour for her all-round performance.



ICC Women's World Cup Qualifiers, February 2017



The last time these two teams met in an ODI was during the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifiers. Here, Pakistan triumphed over Bangladesh to win by 67 runs.



Batting first, Pakistan put 227 on the board for their opponents to chase down. Bismah Maroof top scored with 35 off 52. But, it was the opening partnership of 72 runs between Nahida Khan (28) and Ayesha Zafar (34) that really set the tone for the innings. Valuable contributions from Nain Abidi (27), Rabiya Shah (34) and Aliya Riaz (31) helped boost Pakistan's total beyond 200. However, a lower order collapse meant that the team could not capitalize on the start by accelerating towards the end of the innings.



For Bangladesh, Rumana Ahmed was again among the wicket-takers, finishing with figures of 3-40. Khadija Tul Kubra and Salma Khatun also contributed by taking two wickets each.



Chasing, Bangladesh lost wickets early, finding themselves at 73-4. The Pakistani bowlers made regular breakthroughs as only four batters reached double figures. Two of those were dismissed before they reached 20. Nigar Sultana top scored with 41, while Sanjida Islam contributed with a fighting 34. Their efforts fell short though as the team was bundled out for 160 in the last over.



The pick of the bowlers for Pakistan was Ghulam Fatima who took three wickets at a miserly economy rate of 2.94. Sana Mir and Nashra Sandhu were also impressive, taking two wickets each.



Asia Cup, November 2016



Bangladesh set a record in this match. And it is not one they would have been proud of. Batting first, they could also piece together a measly total of 44 before being bowled out in the 16th over. The record they set was for the lowest first inning total in Twenty-20's of the time, breaking their own record that they had set against India four days prior.



Jahanara Alam top-scored for her side with a 12*, while Rumana Ahmed (11) was the only other player to reach double figures. Sana Mir finished with figures of 3-5 from her three overs. Aimen Anwar took two wickets and the remaining four bowlers chipped in with one each.



In reply, Pakistan played a steady inning, chasing down the total in the 10th over, for the loss of one wicket. Javeria Khan (26*) and Iram Javed (17*) saw their team to the win. The only wicket to fall was claimed by Khadija Tul Kubra when she dismissed Ayesha Zafar for two.



What is remarkable about the Bangladeshi team is that they had a particularly tough run in this edition of the Asia Cup. However, two years' later, in the next edition of the tournament, they come back a vengeance to take out the title. On their way, they defeated the two teams against whom they had set the record for the lowest totals. This just goes to show how much a team can achieve through hard work, dedication and determination.



These three matches highlight Bangladesh's journey to becoming the Asian champions. How will they fare against Pakistan in the upcoming series? Will Pakistan bounce back after their Asia Cup loss or will Bangladesh continue its' winning momentum?