Asia Cup 2018: Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 37 runs, set up final with India

Bangladesh knocked favourites Pakistan out of the Asia Cup after a convincing 37-run win

Image Courtesy: Twitter/@ICC

A spirited Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 37 runs and stormed into the 2018 Asia Cup final. 

Follow the highlights from the match:

# A clinical bowling performance by Bangladesh. Pakistan batsmen succumbed to Mustafizur Rahman and Mehidy Hasan’s probing spell.  Mustafizur and Mehidy finished with stunning match figures of 4/43 and 2/28 respectively, restricting Pakistan to 202/9. Earlier, Bangladesh, who were reeling at 12/3, put up a competitive score of 239 runs on the back of a Mushfiqur Rahim (99 off 116 balls) and Mohammad Mithun’s (60 off 84 balls) 144-run stand. 

It's a wrap! Bangladesh defeat Pakistan to make it to the finals of #AsiaCup2018 and will face India on 28th September #PAKvBAN pic.twitter.com/ZltMkiwHXu

— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) September 26, 2018

# Brief score:

*Bangladesh win by 37 runs

*Pakistan 202/9 (50): Imam-ul-haq 83 (105), Asif Ali 31 (47) / Mustafizur Rahman 4/43. 

*Bangladesh 239/10 (48.5 overs): Mushfiqur Rahim 99 (116), Mohammad Mithun 60 (94) / Junaid Khan 4/19. 

# Junaid Khan is in at number 11.

# Wicket!!  Mustafizur picks up his fourth wicket as Mohammad Nawaz slogs a catch to Hossain Shanto at the deep mid-wicket boundary. Pakistan 186/9!

# Shaheen Afridi is in at number 10. 

# Pakistan 181/8!

# Wicket!! Mustafizur Rahman tempts Hasan Ali with short-pitched delivery and the latter skies a catch to Mortaza at mid-on. Bangladesh inch closer to a victory. 

# Hasan Ali is in at number nine. 

# Wicket!! Mahmudullah has the in-form Imam-ul-Haq stumped by Liton Das. This is a huge wicket for Bangladesh as Imam departs for 83 (105). Pakistan 167/7!

# Mohammad Nawaz is in at number eight. 

# Wicket!! Mehidy Hasan tosses the ball up on the outside-off stump line and beats Asif Ali with the loop as the latter gets stumped by Liton Das. Pakistan 165/6!

# Bangladesh have been brilliant with the ball. They have cramped the Pakistani batsmen for room and have been a livewire on the field. Pakistan, on the other hand, were looking good after a 67-run partnership between Shoaib Malik and Imam before Mortaza took a blinder to dismiss Malik on 30. Shadab, however, failed to trouble the scorers and succumbed to the mounting pressure, reducing Pakistan to 5 wickets. A couple of wickets at this stage could put Bangladesh in the driver's seat. Pakistan 128/5 after 33 overs. 

# Half-century! Imam-ul-Haq brings up his third ODI half-century. 

# Wicket!!  Soumya Sarkar gets Shadab to edge a catch to keeper Liton Das with a short-pitched delivery. Pakistan 94/5!

# Wicket!! Shoaib Malik hits Rubel's fuller delivery towards Mortaza, who takes a blinder at mid-wicket! Shoaib Malik departs for a 51-ball 30. Pakistan 85/4!

# Bangladesh are slowly starting to let things slip here. They are leaking runs and allowing Shoaib Malik and Imam to settle down. Bangladesh would be wary of Shoaib Malik, who has had a brilliant tournament so far. Pakistan 36/3 after 9 overs. 

# Shoaib Malik is in at number five!

# Wicket!! Mustafizur strikes again. He pitches the ball at a probing outside-off angle as Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed nudges an edge back to keeper Mushfiqur Rahim. Pakistan 18/3. 

# Sarfraz Ahmed is in at number four!

# Wicket!! Huge wicket for Bangladesh. Mustafizur traps Babar Azam plumb on the back pad. Bangladesh on fire. Pakistan 3/2!

# Babar Azam is in at number three!

# Wicket!! Mehidy Hasan has Fakhar Zaman caught by Rubel at mid-on. What a start. Fakhar Zaman's dismal show at the Asia Cup continues. Pakistan 2/1!

# Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq open the innings for Pakistan. 

# Brief score:

*Pakistan need 240 runs to win

*Bangladesh 239/10 (48.5 overs): Mushfiqur Rahim 99 (116), Mohammad Mithun 60 (94) / Junaid Khan 4/19. 

# Wicket!! Hasan Ali dismisses Mortaza with a slower delivery as the latter skies a catch to Fakhar Zaman at long-on. Bangladesh 239 all out!

# Wicket!! Rubel Hossain gets run out. Bangladesh 9 down. 

# Wicket!! Junaid Khan strikes again. He knocks Mahmudullah's off stump with a fuller delivery. Bangladesh 230/8!

# Wicket!! Junaid Khan picks up his third wicket as Mehidy Hasan hits a pitched up delivery straight into the hands of substitute fielder Masood at mid-wicket. Bangladesh 221/7!

# Wicket!! Shaheen Afridi picks up a huge-wicket. He scalps Mushfiqur Rahim for 99. Bangladesh 197/6.

# Wicket!! Shadab Khan brings the ball back into left-hander Imrul Kayes and traps him plumb on the front. Bangladesh 167/5!

# Wicket!! Hasan Ali breaks the dangerous partnership with a caught and bowled. He tempts Mithun with a just-short delivery and the latter ends up handing a comfortable catch to Hasan. Mithun departs for 60 off 84 balls. Bangladesh 156/4!

# Mushfiqur and Mithun have settled in and rotating the strike at a healthy rate. Both have reached their half-centuries and are batting freely. While Pakistan, who got off to a great start, have let the momentum slip away, allowing the duo to bid their time in the middle. Bangladesh will reach 231 runs at the current run rate but with wickets in hand, they can fancy a competitive 280+ score at 8-runs per over in the death overs. Bangladesh 143/3 after 31 overs. 

Just when the match looked like it slipped from Bangladesh's hands, @mushfiqur15 and M. Mithun lifted the score up with a great 100 run partnership! Way to go! #PakvBan #AsiaCup2018 — Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 26, 2018

# Half-century!! Mohammad Mithun pulls Hasan Ali to the mid-wicket boundary to bring up his 2nd ODI fifty.

# Half-century!! Mushfiqur Rahim brings up his 30th ODI half-century and his third against Pakistan. This is sensible batting from Mushfiqur. 

# Bangladesh are back on track, courtesy Rahim and Mithun's gritty innings. The duo have found the gaps and made most of Pakistan's sloppy bowling. Pakistan, on the other hand, need to start attacking and pick up wickets. Bangladesh 107/3 after 25 overs. 

# Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun are slowly starting to frustrate Pakistan. They have lifted Bangladesh after a poor start, 12/3, with a 71-run stand for the fourth wicket. Bangladesh 83/3 after 20 overs. 

#  Pakistan are off to a great start. Both the left-arm pacers Junaid Khan and Shaheen Afridi bowled brilliantly with the new ball to wreck the Bangladesh top-order. Bangladesh, on the other hand, need a solid partnership to steer their innings. Bangladesh 38/3 after 12 overs. 

# Mohammad Mithun is in at number five. 

# Wicket!! Bowled. Junaid Khan strikes again. This time he beats Liton Das with his pitched-up delivery and uproots his off-stump. What a delivery. Bangladesh 12/3. 

# Wicket!! Shaheen Afridi cleans up Mominul with a peach of a delivery. He gets past Haque's huge bat and pad gap to knock his off-stump. Bangladesh lose their second wicket. Bangladesh 12/2. 

# Mominul Haque is in at number three. 

# Wicket!! Junaid Khan gets the better of Soumya Sarkar with a short-pitched delivery. Poor shot-selection from Soumya Sarkar as he hands a catch to Fakhar Zaman at short-midwicket. Bangladesh 5/1!

# Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar open the innings for Bangladesh. 

#Playing XI: 

*Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Afridi.

*Bangladesh: Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mominul Haque, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman.

Bangladesh win the toss and opt to bat first. 

It is all to play for in the final super-four match of the tournament. Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have been inconsistent and survived a last-over thriller against Afghanistan to stay in contention. Both the sides failed to put up a fight against India, who have already qualified for the finals.

Squads:

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, Shan Masood.

Bangladesh: Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Abu Hider Rony, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Mosaddek Hossain, Ariful Haque.