Chasing a target of 174, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam hit fifties as Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets in Christchurch Hagley Oval on Thursday.

Bangladesh bowlers were economical at the beginning but once Pakistani openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan got going and combined to a century stand. Then things looked ominous for the Tigers and despite two wickets in an over from rookie pacer Hasan Mahmud bringing life back into Bangladesh and Mohammad Rizwan getting out in the last ball of the 19th over after scoring 69 off 55 balls, Pakistan made the chase look easy.

Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan