The Pakistan batsman thrashed the Bangladeshi bowlers to all parts of the park as they an excellent total of 201. Sharjeel started off in a thunderous manner as he took on Al-Amin as he went for 18 runs off the second over. After his dismissal, the pair of Hafeez and Shehzad took over and were sublime with their stroke-play, slamming fifties and scoring at over 10 an over. Shahid Afridi promoted himself up the order, and it could not have come at a better time, smashing a 18-ball 49. Bangladeshi bowlers were put away with utter disdain. Eden Gardens has always been a batting paradise and Bangladesh will be hoping that their batsmen can overhaul this total.

That innings never slowed down. The run-rate graph was impressive right through with some masterful batting from the likes of Shehzad, Hafeez for the second wicket stand, which set up the stage for Afridi’s blitz. “Openers gave a good start. Set the momentum and we continued with that. We have forgotten the past. Last two months we haven’t played well. Everyone took the challenge. We played well in the warmup game and that boosted our confidence. Great sign for the team that Afridi is hitting the ball well. Pressure will be on the batting side to chase it down. Yes, it’s a good pitch but we have the quality in our bowling department and back ourselves,” assured Mohammad Hafeez who manages to sneak in an interview after the innings.