Pakistan v Bangladesh, 1st ODI, Lahore

Yousuf and Malik boost Pakistan to 322
50 overs Pakistan 322 for 5 (Yousuf 108*, Malik 85) v Bangladesh

	Mohammad Yousuf was the chief architect of Pakistan's imposing total in Lahore © Getty Images

A 145-run fourth-wicket partnership between Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik propelled Pakistan to an imposing 322 for 7 on a flat batting strip at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The experienced duo steadied the ship after the top order fell cheaply and Bangladesh's slow bowlers could do little to counter the onslaught. The stand came at over a run-a-ball - Malik contributed 85 and Yousuf carried on to an unbeaten 103-ball 108, his 15th ODI hundred.

The conditions were tailor-made for batting, especially with the afternoon start negating effects of early swing. The pair came together at 70 for 3 in the 18th over and took little time to settle down and push the scoring. The spinners were rendered impotent as the batting conditions eased out further through the evening - with no turn on offer, the pair picked off easy singles and never failed to put away the long-hops and half volleys.

Malik got his eye in quickly and peppered the offside boundary. He was especially severe on Aftab Ahmed's part-time medium-pace. Aftab lost his length in trying to swing the ball in and the half-volleys were creamed through extra cover. If it was pitched fractionally short and wide, he gave himself room and creamed it past backward point.

A punch to long-off brought up his fifty, off just 45 balls, and the pair clocked 100 runs off only 92. Mohammad Ashraful was also at the receiving end of the pounding and proceeded to feed the batsmen with width outside the offstump with his seam-ups. Malik looked set for a century but perished after giving Shakib Al Hasan the charge, sending one down Shahriar Nafees' throat at long-off.

Yousuf initially played second fiddle to Malik and was more intent in rotating the strike. Mahmudullah, bowling his part-time offspinners, was carted around in his nightmarish five overs, during which he leaked 59 runs. The more he tossed them up, the more Yousuf tore him apart. Yousuf improvised with a reverse-sweep off the same bowler and regularly got down for the conventional one as well.

Pakistan had by then added 69 between the 25th and 35th over and a big score loomed. Misbah walked in and smoked two consecutive sixes off Mahmudullah and soon reverse-swept one to the point fence. His cameo ended when he charged Mortaza and gave Dhiman Ghosh his fourth victim of the match. Mortaza in the process became the second Bangladesh bowler to claim 100 ODI wickets.

Yousuf brought up his 15th ODI ton with a sweep to the deep on the on side and the team's 300 with a slash wide of backward point. Shahid Afridi added his fireworks in the end to push the score to 322.

Bangladesh held the initiative early on after their seamers - Mortaza and Farhad Reza - kept the batsmen in check after losing the toss. Mortaza managed to extract a bit of lift against the left-handers and asked a few questions off openers who seemed intent on getting on the front foot. While Mortaza stuck to a shorter length, Reza offered variations by bowling it much fuller, getting the ball to swing away from the left-handers. He induced an edge off Nasir Jamshed and went on to dismiss Salman Butt with another one that went away.

Younis Khan struggled to get the ball past the infield despite knocking them all off the middle of the bat and his desperation to push on led to his dismissal, caught off a rising delivery. Reza proceeded to bowl out his ten overs but by the time he was done, Yousuf and Malik took over and it all went downhill for the bowlers.