Tigers make it after 16 years

The wait of sixteen long years is over as Bangladesh snatched their second-ever win against Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur last night. Riding on centuries from Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh set a number of batting records on way to a 79-run victory, their first since the 1999 World Cup victory in Northampton, England.

The win, following their impressive performances in the World Cup down under, gives Bangladesh the upperhand going into the last two matches of the series and also justifies their claims of being the favourites in the first bilateral series between the two nations in four years.

The platform for the big victory was laid in the first innings as Tamim and Mushfiqur hit blazing centuries -- the first time that two Bangladesh batsmen have scored centuries in a single ODI innings -- to set up a mammoth score of 329 for six, the highest for Bangladesh -- eclipsing their previous best of 326 made against the same opposition during the Asia Cup last year.

Last time when Bangladesh had scored 300-plus against Pakistan, they failed to defend that total in Fatullah as Pakistan scraped home with three wickets in hand. But the bowlers made sure there was not going to be yet another heartbreak against this relatively inexperienced Pakistan batting line-up, and bowled efficiently to fold the visitors for 250 runs in 45.2 overs. Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali, all-rounder Haris Sohail and debutante Mohammad Rizwan hit half centuries, but the target always looked beyond the Pakistanis' means.

Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny were the most successful bowlers for Bangladesh -- taking three wickets each -- but the rest of the bowlers, except for Abul Hasan, played a very good supporting role in scripting the historic win.

The highlight of the win, though, was the record-breaking 178-run partnership between Tamim and Mushfiqur for the third wicket, overtaking the 175-run stand made by Habibul Bashar and Rajin Saleh against Kenya in 2006.

Tamim, the dashing left-handed opener, had come into the game under heavy criticism, and he chose the right match to silence his critics with a scintillating hundred; his fifth overall and first since March 2013. The Chittagongian once again proved his worth with a nicely-paced 135-ball 132 which featured 15 fours and three sixes. The way the aggressive left-hander charged Haris Sohail over deep midwicket for consecutive sixes only served to remind of his class.

Tamim and Soumya Sarker made a cautious start on a placid wicket, after stand-in skipper Shakib Al Hasan had decided to bat first in the day-night encounter. Pakistan's trio of left-arm seamers kept the Bangladesh openers honest with tight line outside the off-stump. Soumya fell to a run-out and on-form Mahmudullah Riyad was bowled trying to manufacture room against Junaid Khan in the 20th over as Bangladesh started to struggle with 67 on the board. But the arrival of Mushfiqur saw a shift in momentum. 

Tamim later described Mushfiqur's inning by saying: "Mushfiq was attacking and batted beautifully. He made my life easy." It was Mushfiqur's 77-ball 106 -- featuring 13 fours and two sixes -- and a late surge from Shakib and Sabbir Rahman which saw Bangladesh score 262 runs from their last 30 overs.

The aggressive batting from Mushfiqur gave Tamim the confidence to get out of his temporary shell. He was struggling against Saeed Ajmal, although the right-arm bowler did not look the same after remodelling his action. But the two batsmen took full advantage of the three back-up bowlers -- Saad Nasim, Haris Sohail and Azhar Ali -- smashing them for an aggregate of 79 runs.

Sloppy fielding did not help Pakistan's cause either, especially with two crucial catches being dropped, including Tamim's return catch to Saad Nasim when he was on 47 and Junaid's grassing of Mushfiqur when he was on 35.

The two took full advantage of their lifelines and made the most of their chances to set the platform for a historic win.