LAHORE: Captain Babar Azam and recalled Mohammad Hafeez struck unbeaten half centuries as Pakistan cruised to a nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the second Twenty20 on Saturday and kept alive its hopes of retaining the No. 1 ranking.
Pakistan could stay top if it completes a 3-0 clean sweep by winning the final Twenty20 of the three-match series on Monday.
Recalled 39-year-old Hafeez made an unbeaten 67 off 49 balls while No. 1-ranked Twenty20 batsman Babar remained not out on 66 as Pakistan eased to 137-1 with more than three overs to spare.
Both batsmen entertained a weekend crowd of around 20,000 at the Qaddafi Stadium with a splendid 131-run stand against a listless Bangladesh bowling attack.
Shafiul Islam was the lone successful bowler when he had Ahsan Ali caught at mid off for a duck in his first over before Babar and Hafeez took charge. Bangladesh’s disappointing performance was summed up when wicketkeeper Liton Das dropped Hafeez soon after he had reached his half century.
Hafeez, who completed his half century with two successive fours off Shafiul in the 13th over, struck nine fours and a six while Babar, who was out for zero on Friday in Pakistan’s five-wicket win, hit seven boundaries and a six.
In the absence of the banned Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, who pulled out of the tour due to security concerns, Bangladesh’s top-order batsmen struggled for the second consecutive day as the side was restricted to 136-6.
Earlier, opening batsman Tamim Iqbal labored for 53 balls on his way to a top score of 65 before he was run out in the 18th over as the Bangladesh innings struggled to build any momentum against the Pakistan pace attack.
The inexperienced pace trio of Mohammad Hasnain (2-20), Shaheen Afridi (1-22) and Haris Rauf (1-27) combined to bowl 12 overs, conceding only 69 runs between them and sharing four wickets.
Captain Mahmudullah, who won his second successive toss, surprisingly didn’t put himself in the top order while another experienced batsman, Soumya Sarkar, came in after the fall of Tamim’s wicket with only 14 balls left in the innings.
Bangladesh will round out the first phase of the Pakistan tour on Monday. The team didn’t want to stay in Pakistan for more than a week due to security concerns.
The tour was only finalized last week when Bangladesh agreed to split the Twenty20 series and the two ICC World Test Championship matches into three phases after the countries’ national cricket boards reached consensus in Dubai during a meeting facilitated by International Cricket Council chairman Shashank Manohar.
Bangladesh will return for the first test in Rawalpindi from Feb. 7-11. After a break of almost two months, Bangladesh will play an ODI and the second test in Karachi on April 3-9.
Late last year, Sri Lanka also split its tour to Pakistan into two phases when it played a Twenty20 series in Lahore and then returned in December for two test matches in Rawalpindi and Karachi, staying in Pakistan for 16 days.
Pakistan cruises to 2nd Twenty20 win vs Bangladesh
https://arab.news/2hcnp
Pakistan cruises to 2nd Twenty20 win vs Bangladesh
- Babar Azam, who was out for zero on Friday in Pakistan’s five-wicket win, remained not out on 66
- Bangladesh’s top-order batsmen struggled for the second consecutive day as the side was restricted to 136-6
Pakistan to showcase BYD, Samsung, Google assembly push at ITCN Asia expo
- STZA pavilion backed by SIFC highlights shift from tech services to manufacturing
- Electric vehicles, electronics and data centers featured at Lahore exhibition
KARACHI: Pakistan will showcase electric vehicle and electronics assembly by global brands including BYD, Samsung and Google at ITCN Asia 2026, its largest tech expo, as the government seeks to signal a shift from technology consumption toward local manufacturing under its investment-led growth strategy.
The display will take place through a flagship national pavilion led by the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) at the three-day ITCN Asia exhibition beginning Jan. 17 at the Lahore Expo Center, with facilitation from the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), according to a statement issued on Thursday by the cabinet division.
The move comes as Pakistan pushes to deepen industrial capacity and attract long-term foreign investment amid pressure to boost exports and reduce reliance on external financing. While Pakistan has traditionally positioned itself as a provider of IT services and outsourcing, officials have increasingly emphasized localized production in sectors such as electric vehicles, electronics, cloud infrastructure and data centers.
According to the statement, the STZA pavilion will be organized around three themes: “Manufactured in Pakistan,” “Powered by Pakistan,” and “Pakistan as a Tech Destination,” highlighting the country’s effort to integrate technology with manufacturing and physical infrastructure.
“Manufactured in Pakistan [is] a clear demonstration of Pakistan’s shift from technology consumption to localized production, featuring global brands manufacturing and assembling within STZA-notified zones for domestic and international Markets,” the press release by STZA said.
“Exhibits include BYD Electric Vehicles, Google Chromebook Assembly through NRTC, and Samsung Electronics through Sapphire Group, underscoring Pakistan’s growing role in global manufacturing value chains.”
The digital infrastructure segment will showcase investments in data centers and computing capacity, with participation from firms including Multinet, a Pakistani telecom and data services provider, and Sky47, a local data center and cloud infrastructure operator, focusing on cloud services, connectivity and enterprise-grade digital platforms.
A third segment will highlight investment-ready technology zones, including Tech7 STZ and Winston STZ, privately developed Special Technology Zones that are building large-scale facilities such as offices, data centers and industrial space to support technology firms seeking to expand domestically and internationally.
STZA said it has notified 32 Special Technology Zones nationwide since its inception, hosting more than 250 technology enterprises and around 27,000 professionals across sectors including artificial intelligence, fintech, cloud computing, agritech, business process outsourcing and high-tech manufacturing such as drones, electronics and electric vehicles.
Under existing policy, technology firms operating within notified zones are eligible for income tax, customs duty and foreign exchange incentives until June 30, 2035, the statement said.
ITCN Asia is one of Pakistan’s largest annual technology exhibitions, drawing local and foreign investors, industry leaders and policymakers, and is being used this year to project Pakistan’s readiness for technology-driven manufacturing and infrastructure development.
