Dubai (Agencies): Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 37 runs and stormed into the 2018 Asia Cup final after the Super Four match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
After winning the toss, Bangladesh opted to bat first. After a shaky start, the Tigers returned in the fray with a crucial 144-run stand between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun. Mithun made 60 runs before getting out and Mushfiqur stopped at just one run short of a hundred, but the rest of the batters down the order failed to make any impact as Bangladesh ended up scoring 239 runs, losing all of their wickets in 48.5 overs.
In reply, Pakistan also had a horrid start as Mustafizur Rahman struck twice, after Mehidy Miraz got his team a breakthrough. Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, and Sarfraz Khan fell cheaply before Shoaib Malik and Imam-ul-Haq offered some respite to Pakistan.
Imam and Malik formed a 67-run stand, keeping the Mashrafe-led men from successfully choking the flow of runs. However, the partnership has come to an end as the Bangladesh skipper has taken a brilliant catch after Malik hoisted Rubel’s delivery to short mid-wicket.
Pakistan squad:
Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Bangladesh squad:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Liton Das, Mohammad Mithun, Soumya Sarkar, Momin-ul-Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain
