PHOTO: AFP
Bangladesh’s lower-order batsmen kept their cool under pressure to beat Pakistan by five wickets in Dhaka on Wednesday, securing them a place in the Asia Cup final.
Soumya Sarkar, Bangladesh’s highest scorer in the match with 48 runs, helped his team to 131-5 in 19.1 overs after Pakistan had been restricted to 129-7 at the packed Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah Riyad struck Anwar Ali for a boundary to complete the victory and stay unbeaten on 22.
The hosts will play their second Asia Cup final against India on March 6.
“It’s a big win for us,” Mashrafe said after the match. “This was like a semi-final. (I) told the boys to just grab it, because we knew there would be plenty of such matches in the future. There was a bit of pressure in the middle, but we coped well.”
Captain Shahid Afridi though rued his side’s poor batting. “We made too many mistakes. It wasn’t a good total, but the bowlers did superbly”
Earlier, Bangladesh’s pace bowlers demolished Pakistan’s openers as the side were restricted to 28-4 before Ahmed and Shoaib Malik shared 70 runs for the fifth wicket to help them recover from their slow start and set a 130 run target.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2016.
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