Azhar vows Pakistan will come back stronger

azharali - cropped

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali vowed his team will come out fighting against Bangladesh after a 79-run defeat in Mirpur on Friday.

A disappointing batting collapse from the tourists gifted Bangladesh their first win over Pakistan in 16 years, and handed them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Azhar was not happy with what he saw from his side - shorn of the retired Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi - in the field, but expects them to be competitive in the remaining two one-day internationals.

"We made some mistakes in the field and dropped some catches at the wrong time and the credit goes to the Bangladesh batsmen," he said. "They got 30-40 runs extra. 

"Mohammed Rizwan (67) batted well, we had a few positives. We will fix the mistakes and come strong in the next game."

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan was full of praise for his players.

Centuries from Tamim Iqbal (132) and Mushfiqur Rahim (106) lifted Bangladesh to 329-6 and Pakistan could only muster 250 all out in reply.

"Tamim and Mushfiqur batted really well, it was a good pitch to bat on," said Shakib.

"It was easy for us as a bowling unit. We just wanted to contain. 

"It was a professional performance."

Author(s)