In a low-scoring thriller at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 11 runs to secure their spot in the Asia Cup 2025 final.
The two bitter rivals will now face each other in an Asia Cup final for the first time as Pakistan’s victory secured a historic matchup against India.
Under interim captain Jaker Ali, Bangladesh decided to bowl first. On the most important day, their bowlers put on an outstanding display, holding Pakistan to 135 for 8. Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain made an impression with 2 for 18, while Taskin Ahmed concluded with figures of 3 for 28. Pakistan lost wickets frequently, thus their batting never really connected.
Saim Ayub‘s terrible tournament continued with his fourth duck in six innings after Sahibzada Farhan was dismissed in the opening over. Hussain Talat came shortly after Fakhar Zaman, who put up 13 before losing his wicket. Against spin, the middle order faltered, and captain Salman Agha left early as well.
Pakistan moved closer to a manageable total thanks to cameos from Muhammad Haris (31 off 23) and Muhammad Nawaz (25 off 15). Before succumbing to Taskin, Shaheen Shah Afridi contributed with a 19 and smashed the first six of the inning.
Shaheen Afridi dismissed Parvez Hossain Emon in the first over of Bangladesh’s chase, and Towhid Hridoy was removed shortly after. A collapse resulted from Saif Hassan’s ejection to Haris Rauf after he attempted a counterattack with 18 off 15.
Even though Shamim Hossain (30 off 25) attempted to steady the sagging ship, Pakistan’s bowlers kept taking wickets. After failing with the bat, Saim Ayub made amends with the ball, taking two wickets, including Jaker Ali, the captain of Bangladesh. Shaheen took three wickets, while Haris Rauf quickly dismissed Tanzim Sakib and Taskin. The bottom order of Bangladesh battled until the very end, and Rishad Hossain’s 16 off 11 gave them some hope. Their final score of 124 for 9 fell 11 runs short of the goal.
Who Made What Remark?
Shaheen Shah Afridi, the match’s MVP
This prize will be dedicated to my lovely wife and son, who are present. Early breakthroughs are necessary. The powerplay was decided by those three overs. The slower ball was what I was practicing. In the main time, it turned out nicely. The team decided that I would follow Nawaz and Faheem. We gained momentum after I hit two sixes.
Pakistan’s Salman Agha (winning captain)
We must be a unique team if you win these kinds of games. Everybody performed incredibly well. Batting has to be improved a little. We’ll work on that, though. A unique player is Shaheen. He fulfils his responsibilities to the team. I’m very glad for him. We fell short by fifteen runs. We’ll exert pressure the way we bowled up front. With the new ball, we bowled well. If you bowl like this, you’ll win games more frequently than not. We’ve been playing good fielding. Shane has been putting a lot of effort into us. We’ve been attending more sessions. According to Mike Hesson, you won’t be on the team if you can’t field. We’re a strong enough squad to defeat anybody. We’ll try to accomplish that when we return on Sunday.
Jaker Ali (Losing Captain), Bangladesh
We lost the last two games as a batting unit. With the bowling unit, we performed well. We lost the game yesterday as well because of the hitting. I made an effort to take those risks. I made an effort to get used to being captain. Rishad, our bowler, and Said, our batsman. Sadly, we didn’t do anything to help Saif.
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