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29 March 2024

Bangladesh stun Pakistan to enter Asia Cup T20 final

Published
By Cricket Correspondent

Bangladesh stunned Pakistan by 5 wickets to storm into the final of the Asia Cup T20 on Wednesday.

Chasing a target of 130, the hosts were home with five balls to spare making 131-5 riding on a brilliant knock of 48 by Soumya Sarkar.

Pakistan clawed their way with a double strike by Amir (2 for 26) but the tide changed in the 19th over when Sami went for 15 including two no-balls.

Bangladesh will face India in Sunday's final.

Scoreboard:

Pakistan
Khurram Manzoor c Rahim b Al-Amin 1
Sharjeel Khan b Sunny 10
Mohammad Hafeez lbw b Mortaza 2
Sarfraz Ahmed not out 58
Umar Akmal c Shakib b Taskin 4
Shoaib Malik c Sabbir b Sunny 41
Shahid Afridi c Sabbir b Al-Amin 0
Anwar Ali c Sabbir b Al-Amin 13
Extras 0
Total (seven wickets; 20 over) 129
Fall of wickets:
1-1 (Manzoor), 2-12 (Sharjeel), 3-18 (Hafeez), 4-28 (Akmal), 5-98 (Malik), 6-102 (Afridi), 7-129 (Ali)
Did not bat: Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan
Bowling: Taskin 4-1-14-1, Al-Amin 4-0-25-3, Sunny 4-0-35-2, Mortaza 4-0-29-1, Shakib 4-0-26-0

Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal lbw b Irfan 7
Soumya Sarkar b Amir 48
Sabbir Rahman b Afridi 14
Mushfiqur Rahim lbw b Malik 12
Shakib Al Hasan b Amir 8
Mahmudullah not out 22
Mashrafe Mortaza not 12
Extras (lb 4 w2 nb2) 8
Total (five wickets; 19.1 overs) 131
Fall of wickets
: 1-13 (Tamim) 2-46 (Sabbir), 3-83 (Soumya), 4-88 ( Rahim), 5-104 ( Shakib)
Did not bat: Mohammad Mithun, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taskin Ahmed
Bowling: Amir 4-0-26-2(w1), Irfan 4-0-23-1, Sami 4-0-30-0 (nb2), Afridi 4-0-20-1, Ali 2.1-0-25-0 (w1)
Result: Bangladesh won by five wickets
Toss: Pakistan
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (IND) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI)
TV umpire: Enamul Haque (BAN)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ)

Mahmudullah has lofted Anwar Ali for a boundary for a boundary as Bangladesh win in style to seal their berth in the final.

Mahdmullah virtually seals it for Bangladesh slamming Sami through point for a boundary off another no-ball. Ban 127-5, 19 overs.

Mortaza holes out to long off but Sami has bowled a no-ball with the batsmen running two.

Bangladesh need 18 off 12 balls with Sami bowling the penultimate over. Ban 112-5, 18 overs.

Mortaza has smashed Amir for consecutive boundaries down the ground and fends a bouncer to fine leg. Ban 112-5, 18 overs.

Amir has struck another deadly blow as he swings and misses only to see his stumps rattled. Ban 104-5, 17.2 overs.

Shakib Al Hasan b Amir 8 (13b)

Bangladesh 26 off 18 balls with Amir bowling the 18th.

Mahmudullah has slammed Irfan over midoff for what could be the game clinching six. Ban 104-4, 17 overs.

Pakistan are back in the hunt with Bangladesh need 35 off 24 balls. Ban 95-4, 16 overs.

Is there a twist in the tale as Malik gets Rahim perishes attempting a reverse flick. Ban 88-4, 14.2 overs.

Mushfiqur Rahim lbw b Shoaib Malik 12 (15b)

Amir produces a magnificent yorker to dismiss Sarkar knocking out his leg stump. Ban 83-3, 13.2 overs.

Soumya Sarkar b Amir 48 (63m 48b 5x4 1x6)

Sarkar survives a confident appeal for leg before off Afridi after being rapped on the pads on his back leg. Ban 82-2, 13 overs.

Afridi strays on the leg side and Sarkar punishes him by sweeping to the fence as Bangladesh are on course to book a berth in the finals. Ban 73-2, 11 overs.

Bangladesh are targetting Anwar Ali with Sarkar clubbing him for a towering six over midwicket followed by a boundary. Ban 65-2, 10 overs.

Afridi strikes with his frist delivery as Sabbir gives him the charge and plays down the wrong line to be castled. Ban 46-2, 8.1 overs.

Sabbir Rahman b Afridi 14 (15b 1x4)

Sabbir survives a confident shout for lbw while Sarkar swings to fine leg fence after Afridi strays on the leg. Ban 40-1, 7 overs.

Bangladesh are 34-1 at the end of the Powerplay with Irfan bowlinng three overs as Pakistan look for wickets.

Sabbir welcomes Sami by flicking behind square for a sweetly timed boundary.

Irfan strikes trapping Tamim leg before to silence the partisan crowd. Ban 13-1, 1.4 overs.

Tamim Iqbal lbw b Irfan 7 (7m 4b 1x6)

Sarkar punches Irfan square of the wicket through point for his first boundary.

Tamim marks his returns by flicking Amir for a six over square leg as Bangladesh begin chasing 130. Ban 8-0, 1 over.

Pakistan innings

A fighting half century by Sarfraz (58 not out) during a stand of 70 with Malik (41) rescued Pakistan from the doldrums to post a competitive total of 129-7 after opting to bat first.

Al-Amin claimed 3 for 23 and Sunny 2 for 35.

Sarfraz hammers a six off the last over as Anwar is out off the last ball. Pak 129-7, 20 overs.

Anwar Ali c Sabbir Rahman b Al-Amin Hossain 13 (9b 1x4)

Sarfraz slams a boundary off Taskin to complete a battling 40-ball 50. Pak 117-6, 19 overs.

Afridi takes the aerial route but hits straight to the fielder at midwicket. Pak 102-6, 17.3 overs.

Shahid Afridi c Sabbir Rahman b Al-Amin Hossain 0 (2b)

Malik is dismissed after a wonderful partnership of 70 off 50 balls which has rescued Pakistan. Pak 98-5, 16.4 overs.

Shoaib Malik c Sabbir Rahman b Arafat Sunny 41 (30b 5x4 1x6)

Malik cracks two consecutive boundaries off Shakib to step up the tempo with the last three overs yielding 37 runs. Pak 91-4, 16 overs.

Sarfraz is leading the charge slapping Mortaza through the covers for a boundary before whacking a full toss over square leg for a six. Pak 79-4, 15 overs.

Malik launches Sunny into orbit with a straight hit. Pak 65-4, 14 overs.

Malik cuts Mortaza to backward point for a boundary to bring up the 50 of the innings. Pak 54-4, 13 overs.

Malik picks up a boundary tickling Sunny past short fine leg. Pak 40-4, 11 overs.

Sarfraz is continuing unfazed by the mayhem around making room and splitting the offside field with a deft cut shot. Pak 34-4, 10 overs.

Pakistan are imploding as Akmal perishes under the weight of expectations slicing to point with Shakib pouching a skier. Pak 28-4, 8.2 overs.

Umar Akmal c Shakib Al Hasan b Taskin Ahmed 4 (11b)

Sarfraz picks up another boundary whipping Mortaza through the onside. Pak 25-3, 7 overs.

Everything seems to be going Bangladesh's way as Hafeez is adjudged leg before though replays confirmed later it was going over the stumps. Pak 18-3, 4.5 overs.

Mohammad Hafeez lbw b Mashrafe Mortaza 2 (19m 11b)

Sarfraz opens his account with a first-ball boundary off Sunny. Pak 16-2, 4 overs.

Left arm spinner Sunny strikes castling Sharjeel as he attempts to sweep and misses completely. Pak 12-2, 3.5 overs.

Sharjeel Khan b Arafat Sunny 10 (8b 1x4 1x6)

Taskin keeps up the pressure bowling a maiden to Hafeez. Pak 8-1, 3 overs.

Sharjeel hits the first six of the match flicking Al-Amin over square leg to open his account. Pak 8-1. 2 overs.

Al-Amin strikes with his first delivery as Manzoor is undone by the bounce to glove it behind. Pak 1-1, 1.1 overs.

Khurram Manzoor c Mushfiqur Rahim b Al-Amin Hossain 1 (7b)

Afridi has won the toss and Pakistan have opted to bat first on track devoid of grass.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taskin Ahmed

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan

Preview

Pakistan will be wary of hosts Bangladesh despite holding an ace in the form of Mohammad Amir in a crunch Asia Cup T20 clash at Mirpur on Wednesday.

Amir has been in terrific form since his return to international cricket showing his class with a brilliant spell against India and snaring a miserly 2 for 6 against UAE.

Bangladesh will be wishing for a less-than-green track to blunt Amir's pace as they seek to consolidate their position after beating Sri Lanka on Monday.

The absence of Mustafizur Rahman who has been ruled out of the tournament with a side strain will be major setback for Bangladesh.

However, they will be boosted by the returns of opener Tamim Iqbal.

“Tamim’s absence is always a setback for us, he is Bangladesh’s best batsman in all formats,” said Mortaza on the eve of the match. “He is experienced, he has been playing for a long time. But Mustafiz’s absence is a big blow. We all know what he has done for this team. It’s really unfortunate for us. We would have liked both of them.”

Pakistan's batsmen have yet to fire though Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik gave a solid performance during their win against UAE.

Bangladesh won a three-match ODI series against Pakistan 3-0 In April 2015.

“They played really well against us, in the ODIs as well as the T20 last year. I’m not really sure if that gives them an edge or not, but they are a very improved side in the last year or so, and are now playing good cricket. We’ve got to be really up with our A game to play against them,” said Pakistan coach Waqar Younis.

Red-hot Amir’s presence certainly gives Pakistan an edge.

Teams (from):

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Abu Hider, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.

Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Anwar Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Sami, Sarfraz Ahmed, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz.