Pakistan beat Bangladesh to set up first-ever IND-PAK Asia Cup final

After more than four decades, the Asia Cup will finally feature the highly anticipated India-Pakistan final. Pakistan secured their place in the title clash by narrowly defending a modest total of 135 against Bangladesh on a worn Dubai pitch, winning by 11 runs in a tense and closely fought contest.

Shaheen Afridi shines for Pakistan

Pakistan’s bowlers set the tone early with Shaheen Shah Afridi making an immediate impact by taking two wickets within the first three powerplay overs, applying crucial early pressure on the Bangladesh batting lineup.

Following this, the Pakistani spinners stepped up, exploiting the rough surface to find sharp turns and grip that made scoring increasingly difficult for the hosts.

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Bangladesh’s struggles with the bat continued, as Saim Ayub, after recording his fourth duck in six Asia Cup innings earlier, struck again with the ball to produce a timely double-strike. His timely breakthroughs pushed the required run rate higher, making the chase even more daunting for Bangladesh.

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Reckless Bangladeshi batters

One of the most unusual aspects of the game was the way the sixes count didn’t correlate with the result. While Pakistan managed just five sixes throughout their innings, Bangladesh matched that number by the tenth over and went on to hit seven sixes overall.

Despite this aggressive approach, the Bangladesh batsmen struggled to convert their hits into consistent runs on a pitch that arguably did not favor such power-hitting, often ending up catching fielders as they chased the target.

Pakistan’s batting innings itself was far from dominant, with early top-order setbacks leaving the team in trouble. However, their lower-middle order batsmen battled hard to recover and post a competitive total of 135, which ultimately proved enough to clinch victory.

The win means Pakistan advances to face India in what promises to be a high-intensity Asia Cup final, rekindling one of cricket’s fiercest rivalries on one of the biggest stages in Asian cricket.

Pakistan vs Bangladesh: Playing XIs

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha(c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris(w), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

Bangladesh: Saif Hassan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali(w/c), Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman