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Shahid Afridi excelled with bat and ball as Pakistan silenced their critics with a 55-run thrashing of Bangladesh in their first game of the World Twenty20 on Wednesday.
Afridi created a stir in Pakistan??after??stating that he has experienced more love from cricket fans in India than in his homeland, comments which added fuel to the flames following his side's??Asia Cup failure which led to questions being raised over his role as captain.
But the all-rounder??let his talent do the talking at Eden Gardens, smashing 49 from only??19??balls after??Mohammad Hafeez (64) and late call-up??Ahmed Shehzad (52) had laid the foundations for Pakistan's highest World T20 total of 201-5.
Afridi then??took??2-27 as Bangladesh could only muster 146-6 despite Shakib Al Hasan's 50 not out??and??failed to secure a third consecutive T20 victory over Pakistan, who join New Zealand on two points at the top of??Group 2 ahead of their clash with India on Saturday.
The loss of early wickets was a recurring??theme in Pakistan's poor showing at the Asia Cup, but the top order delivered in emphatic fashion in Kolkata.
Sharjeel Khan (18) set the tone by smashing two sixes in the second over from????Al-Amin Hossain before??Shehzad and Hafeez dished out more punishment to the Tigers attack in a second-wicket stand of 95.
Hafeez was the??chief aggressor, clearing the ropes twice in a thrilling 42-ball knock which ended when he was brilliantly caught on the boundary??by Soumya Sarkar, while??Shehzad played an array of stylish strokes??to justify his call-up.
It was Afridi who stole the show, though, just missing out on Pakistan's fastest T20 half-century after bludgeoning four sixes and as many fours, with??Taskin Ahmed (2-32) and??Arafat Sunny (2-34) - both reported for illegal bowling actions last week - ensuring the Tigers were not chasing an even bigger total.
The impressive??Mohammad Amir (2-27) uprooted Sarkar's off??stump with the third ball of Bangladesh's innings and spinner Afridi got rid of the dangerous??Tamim Iqbal (24) as well as??Sabbir Rahman (25), with Shakib's unbeaten half-century in vain.