ODI World Cup: Babar reveals ambitions for remainder of tournament, 'We are trying to win next two matches'

Pakistan captain Babar Azam was full of praise for his side after they snapped a four-match losing streak in the ODI World Cup on Tuesday (Oct 31). The match played at the Eden Gardens saw Pakistan beat Bangladesh by seven wickets as they still have a chance of making the semifinals. Riding on the terrific 128-run opening stand between Abdullah Shafique (68) and Fakhar Zaman (81), Pakistan are now in a position to hope for reaching the semifinals.

Babar reveals ambitions

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“All credit to the boys the way we played in all three departments. We know, that if Fakhar bats for 20-30 overs, it's a different ball game, he played his natural game. Good to see him. We are trying to win the next two matches, we'll see where we stand. We started well, the way Shaheen started,” Babar said during the post-match presentation.

After reducing Bangladesh to 204, Pakistan batters made light work of the opposition with the bat and chased the target in 32.3overs. With six points now to their name, Babar Azam’s men will look to fight for every point as the tournament reaches business end.

The pair of Shafique and Zaman put together an opening stand of 128 runs from 21 overs before the former was scalped by Mehidy Hasan Miraz who later got the better of skipper Babar on 9 as he failed to make the most of his opportunity. Mohammad Rizwan (26) and Iftikhar Ahmed (17) then contributed to the winning cause as they led Pakistan to win. Interestingly, all of Pakistan’s wickets were taken by Mirazwho ended with figures of 60/3 in his nine overs.

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Earlier, Bangladesh were bowled out for 204 with Mahmudullah top-scoring with 56 while skipper Shakib scored 43 off 64. Mohammad Wasim Jr and Shaheen Shah Afridi both ended with three wickets each with Haris Rauf getting two.

Pakistan next take on New Zealand and will hope for a win that would give them the opportunity to stay in the semifinal race. The contest will take place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday (Oct 4). The Men in Green will take on England in their last match of the league stage. Bangladesh on the other hand take on Sri Lanka and Australia in their remaining two matches.

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