Mushfiq and Mithun’s 4th wicket partnership of 144 runs off 29.2 overs dominated the Bangladesh innings and completed the turnaround from 12/3, against Pakistan in a virtual semifinal of the 14th Asia Cup at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Opting to bat first, Bangladesh will be disappointed to have batted just 48.5 overs for their collection of 239/10.
Mushfiq meanwhile will be disappointed at missing out on a 7th ODI century by a whisker, out playing a tired shot on 99 that featured nine boundaries off 116 balls.
Mithun completed his second ODI half century – both in the ongoing Asia Cup and both with Mushfiq partnering him at the other end. Eventually he was out for 60 off 84 balls, including four boundaries.
Mithun was removed from 4th partnership on 156/4 in 33.4 overs as he was caught and bowled by Hasan Ali.
Mushfiq was caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed off Shaheen Shah Afridi when scoreboard showing for Bangladesh at 197/6 in 41.4 overs.
Mushfiq and Mithun came together after Liton Kumar Das’s dismissal on 12/3 in 4.2 overs, which was a big blow after opening batsman Soumya Sarkar and Mominul Haque’s dismissals on 5/1 in 2.5 ovrs and on 12/2 in 3.5 overs respectively.
Mahmudullah Riyad [25 off 31b; 1x4], skipper Mashrafe Mortaza [13 off 13b; 1x6] and Mehidy Hasan Miraz [12 off 11b; 1x4] were other double digit scorers for Bangladesh.
Left-handed pacer Junaid Khan captured four wickets for 19 runs while Shaheen Shah Afridi [2/47] and Hasan Ali [2/60] and Shadab Khan [1/52] shared five wickets for Pakistan.
However, both Mushfiq and Mithun played heroic roles for Bangladesh’s victory of 137 runs against Sri Lanka in the tournament opener where diminutive Mushfiq hit his ODI best 144 and Mithun completed his maiden ODI half century alongside they shared a partnership of 131 off 23.3 overs in the 3rd wicket.