Bangladesh’s batting collapse cost them a place in the final, as for the first time in 17 editions of the Asia Cup, the two arch-rivals India and Pakistan will battle for the title.
A small target, but a huge disappointment! What Bangladesh’s batters produced could only be described as sheer madness or a display of mindless batting. The brilliant bowling performance that had opened the door to victory was firmly shut by their batting failure. Pakistan, on the other hand, showed the opposite picture—compensating for batting failures with spirited bowling and fielding to secure their spot in the final.
The target was just 136. Yet Bangladesh’s batting made it look like 236! One after another, batters fell into the trap of impatience and reckless shot attempts, turning the dream of a final into a nightmare.
In the Super Four clash that effectively became a semifinal, Pakistan sealed a place in the final with an 11-run win.
Unbelievable but true—since the tournament’s inception in 1984, this 17th edition (combining both ODIs and T20s) will mark the first-ever India vs. Pakistan final.
At the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday, Bangladesh restricted Pakistan to 135 but fell short themselves, managing only 124.
For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed continued his superb bowling form with three wickets, while Rishad Ahmed and Sheikh Mehedi Hasan picked up two apiece. Yet the batters failed to repay the effort. Pakistan’s hero was Shaheen Shah Afridi, who followed up a cameo with the bat by taking three wickets.
Bangladesh suffered a major setback even before the match began. As in the previous game, captain Liton Kumar Das couldn’t play due to injury, forcing Zakir Ali to lead again. Liton’s absence was felt even more during the chase.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha was happy to bat first after losing the toss. But his smile faded quickly. Despite being their fourth batter, he had to come to the crease as early as the second over.
In the very first over, Taskin Ahmed dismissed Sahibzada Farhan, becoming only the third Bangladeshi bowler to reach 100 wickets in T20Is.
In the next over, Saim Ayub lofted Sheikh Mehedi Hasan’s delivery to mid-on. This Asia Cup has been a nightmare for Saim—four ducks in six innings, and nine in his 45-match T20 career!
Rishad Hossain, who caught the first two wickets, then dismissed two more with his bowling. Fakhar Zaman (13 off 20) was caught at long-off while trying to create space to play a shot. Outside the dressing room, spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed smiled broadly—this was clearly their plan for Fakhar.
Rishad’s next victim was Hussain Talat, the man of the match in the previous game.
Salman battled on at one end but was undone by Mustafizur Rahman’s cutter for 19 off 23. Pakistan were then 49 for 5, taking almost 11 overs to reach 50.
Promoted up the order, Shaheen Shah Afridi survived a chance off Sohan on 1, then smashed two huge sixes off Tanzim and Taskin before holing out for 19 off 13.
Mohammad Nawaz was dropped on 0 by Parvez Hossain Emon, which cost Bangladesh later. He hit two sixes in a 25-run knock off 15 balls, putting on the innings’ highest stand of 38 with Mohammad Haris.
Haris top-scored with 31 off 23 but was stopped by a sharp reflex catch off his own bowling from Sheikh Mehedi. Faheem Ashraf stayed unbeaten on 14 off 9 at the end.
Pakistan scored 65 in the first 13 overs but added 70 in the last seven.
Chasing, Bangladesh lost Parvez Hossain Emon in the first over. Afridi extended his record for wickets in the first over of T20Is to 22.
Saif Hassan, who had hit fifties in the previous two games, tried to counterattack. He smashed Faheem Ashraf for a six and then Haris Rauf for a six and a four with superb strokes.
In the fifth over, two Bangladeshi batters ended up almost at the same end but escaped a run-out. They didn’t escape for long, though—both gifted their wickets soon after.
Attempting to hit Afridi over the top, Jony Hridoy fell for 5 off 10. Saif (18 off 15) was caught at point off Rauf.
Sheikh Mehedi, at number four, lofted Afridi for six off a loose delivery, while Sohan edged a six off Rauf’s pace. Despite hitting four sixes in the powerplay, Bangladesh reached only 36.
Sheikh Mehedi (11 off 10) soon joined the procession of wickets.
Back in the XI, Sohan struggled for nearly every run, unable to find either big shots or singles after his lucky six. His painful innings ended at 16 off 21.
Captain Zakir added to the woes, playing a poor shot to depart for 5 off 9.
Still, Shamim Hossain kept Bangladesh’s hopes alive with two sixes and some positive batting. But his 30 off 25 ended when he attempted a reverse lap off Afridi’s slower ball—effectively ending Bangladesh’s chances.
Rishad Hossain reduced the margin late with two fours and a six, but it wasn’t enough to grab a final ticket.
India and Pakistan will clash in the final on Sunday. Before that, India will face Sri Lanka on Friday in a dead rubber.
Scorecard
- Pakistan: 135/8 in 20 overs (Farhan 4, Fakhar 13, Saim 0, Salman 19, Talat 3, Haris 31, Afridi 19, Nawaz 25, Faheem 14*, Rauf 3*; Taskin 3/28, Mehedi 2/28, Tanzim 0/28, Mustafizur 1/33, Rishad 2/18).
- Bangladesh: 124/9 in 20 overs (Saif 18, Parvez 0, Hridoy 5, Mehedi 11, Sohan 16, Shamim 30, Zakir 5, Tanzim 10, Rishad –, Taskin 4, Mustafizur 6; Afridi 3/17, Faheem 0/18, Rauf –, Abrar 0/13, Saim 2/16, Nawaz 1/14).
Result: Pakistan won by 11 runs.
Man of the Match: Shaheen Shah Afridi.
