Pakistan have defeated hosts Bangladesh in the opening encounter of the Asia cup, winning by 21 runs. Bangladesh looked unconvincing throughout their chase of the 263-run target. They recovered from 135 for 5 to become the favorites towards the closing stages of the game. But when it came to the critical moments which decided the match, Pakistan proved superior. With Bangladesh requiring 39 off 40 with five wickets in hand, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal took 5 for 17 between them to ensure that Shakib Al Hasan's heroic innings of 64 ended in frustration and disappointment. Batting first Pakistan's batting crumbled without warning after their openers had laid a solid enough platform. Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed put on 135 at close to five runs an over. Shahadat Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan brought Bangladesh back with a flurry of wickets to leave Pakistan 198 for 7. But Umar Gul smashed a quick-fire 39 at No. 9 to lift his side to 262 which is a challenging total for a day-night game in Mirpur.

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