Shaheen six-for shatters Tigers
Mustafizur Rahman's second five-wicket haul in as many games and a fifty from Shakib Al Hasan were not enough to help Bangladesh avoid a 94-run loss to Pakistan at Lord's on Friday as both the teams' World Cup 2019 campaign came to an end.
Both the players made a number of individual records on the day, yet they fell short of a collective effort from Pakistan, who had in Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi their own heroes.
The winners needed to beat Bangladesh by at least 316 runs to qualify for the semifinals, which they almost knew was never going to happen. Yet the win made sure they finish at fifth while Bangladesh languish at the seventh place. Should South Africa beat Australia on Saturday, they will have to make do with an eighth-place finish, an end very harsh on the likes of Shakib and Mustafiz.
Shakib's 64 off 77 balls, studded with six fours, took him once again to the top of the tournament's runscoring charts. The Bangladesh all-rounder now has 606 runs, way ahead of Rohit Sharma (544) and David Warner (516).
It also meant he is now the third player in the table of highest runs scored in a single World Cup, behind Sachin Tendulkar and Matthew Hayden.
The innings also made him only the second player to make seven 50 plus scores in a single World Cup, after Tendulkar. The Indian World Cup winner did so in 2003.
Back to today's match, no other Bangladesh batsmen could master an innings to trouble Pakistan and they were bundled out for 221. Liton Das was the second highest scorer with 32 while Mahmudullah added 29.
Shaheen led Pakistan's attack with six wickets for 35, ending with his country's best ever World Cup bowling figures. On the way to the Man-of-the-Match performance, he claimed the wickets of the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Shakib and Mahmudullah. Shadab Khan took two while Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir grabbed one apiece.
Batting first, an Imam-ul-Haq century and 96 from Babar Azam helped Pakistan make 315 for 9.
After the fall of Fakhar Zaman on 23, the duo added 157 in the second wicket to keep the team going and Babar will only rue missing out on yet another century.
The batsman was trapped leg before after hitting two consecutive fours in a Saifuddin over.
Although he missed his second ton of this World Cup, that innings was enough to make him the batsman with the highest runs in a single World Cup for Pakistan. He has now made 474 runs in this edition. The previous record was held by Javed Miandad, who hit 437 runs in their 1992 World Cup winning campaign.
Imam did not miss reaching three figures though, but he was hit wicket soon after reaching his hundred off a Mustafizur Rahman delivery.
Saifuddin and Mustafiz now moped the midle order and the tail, with some help from Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Imad Wasim added 43 priceless runs for Pakistan, but five batsmen failing to reach double digit meant they could not make a bigger score.
Mustafiz's bowling exploits on the day took his tournament tally to 20, putting him on second, only behind Australian Mitchell Starc who has claimed 24 scalps so far. Saifuddin bagged three wickets to give Mustafiz due support.
The five-for also etched Mustafiz's name on the honours board of the historic ground, alongside Imam and Shaheen, courtesy of their century and six-wicket haul respectively.
The Tigers began the tournament with a dream to play the semifinals. They did beat the likes of South Africa and West Indies, but a seventh or eighth place finish was not something they were ready for.
Barring Shakib and Mustafiz's individual brilliance and a century from Mushfiqur Rahim, the overall team performance was on the down curve.
They can only hope the next World Cup, to be played in known conditions in India four years later, will be a lot different.
The fans will wait.