KOLKATA: Besieged by problems on and off the pitch, Pakistan returned to winning ways in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup at the Eden Gardens here, with a seven-wicket win against Bangladesh with 105 balls to spare.
Pakistan's troubles in the field were manifested in their defeat in four successive matches while the problems out of the ground came through various allegations, one of which resulted in the chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq putting in his papers over conflict-of-interest charges.
Babar Azam's team put all these issues on the back burner as it came up with a clinical performance to register their third win in seven matches and moved to fifth place in the standings, tied on six points with Afghanistan but with a better Net Run Rate.
Fakhar Zaman (81) and Abdullah Shafique (68) were the stars of Pakistan's batting efforts with authoritative fifties after Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first.
In the first innings, Shaheen Shah Afridi (3-23), Mohammad Wasim (3-31), and Haris Rauf (2-36) were the pick of Pakistan bowlers, as the pacers rallied together for the Men in Green to bowl Bangladesh all out for a paltry total of 204.
For Bangladesh, seasoned batter Mahmudullah (56), who struck a half-century after a century against South Africa, and Shakib Al Hasan (43) showed a fight with the bat.
In reply, Pakistan reached 205/3 in just 32.3 overs -- fourth time that they have won a men's ODI World Cup game with over 100 balls to spare.
A fifth loss on the trot for the 1992 champions when they face Bangladesh would essentially end their hopes of progressing further even with two matches still to play, though a win here would boost Pakistan's hopes of a late surge through the tournament.
Bangladesh are in an even more precarious position as they sit just above the last spot in the standings with only two points from a win over Afghanistan in their tournament opener.
While form might be lacking after five consecutive defeats, Shakib Al Hasan's outfit can turn to Bangladesh's first-ever ODI victory over Pakistan for inspiration, when they won their clash at the Cricket World Cup in 1999 by 62 runs.
That was one of only five victories that Bangladesh have secured in 38 ODIs against Pakistan who have all but dominated their encounters.
The most recent match-up in the format came in the Super Four stage of the recent Asia Cup when Pakistan strengthened their hold on the head-to-head record with a seven-wicket win.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 204 all out in 45.1 overs (Mahmudullah 56, Shakib Al Hasan 43, Litton Das 45; Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-23, Mohammad Wasim 3-31, Haris Rauf 2-36) lost to Pakistan 205/3 in 32.3 overs (Abdullah Shafique 68, Fakhar Zaman 81; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 3-60) by 7 wickets. IANS
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