JOIN USBangla to face India in final
Bangladesh pulled off a sensational five-wicket victory over Pakistan in an Asia Cup T20 contest that was strewn with heart-stopping moments at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium on Wednesday.
The win catapulted Bangladesh to the final against India on Sunday and the celebrations refused to die down in the stands with many staying back to watch their favourite sport stars soaking in the moment.
On a track that was favourable for batting but also had something for the spinners, the home team bowled beautifully to put the Pakistan batsmen in a bind. Sarfraz Ahmed (58 n.o, 5x4, 2x6) and Shoaib Malik (41) put up a fifth-wicket stand of 70 runs to push Pakistan’s innings to 129/7.
But Bangladesh, backed by a vociferous crowd brimming the stadium, were not be discounted this day. Soumya Sarkar (48) gave them a blazing start and though the hosts did lose their way in the middle overs, the experienced Mahmudullah and the gutsy Mashrafe Mortaza combined to take them to one of their memorable wins on home soil, with five balls to spare.
Bangladesh were cruising after Sarkar laid the base for their chase but once Mohammad Aamir bowled him with a yorker and Mushfiqur Rahim failed to connect with a reverse sweep off Malik, the hosts were left reeling at 88/4 by the 15th over. The presence of Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah allayed the worries and Pakistan were huddled in an urgent meeting after the 17th over.
Afridi tossed the ball to Aamir for his final over and the left-arm pacer was right on the money. His scorcher clattered the stumps of Shakib who was looking to scoop it. He departed with an apology.
The capacity crowd was hushed to silence when Mortaza arrived. In a perfect anti-climax, Mortaza dispatched Aamir for back-to-back boundaries, the first through mid-off and the other to fine-leg as the Bangladesh captain tried to evade a bouncer. The stadium erupted in a deafening roar.
The hosts now needed 18 off the last two overs, and it was Mohd Sami who came to bowl the 19th over. He, however ended up bowling two no-balls, the over bleeding 15 runs. It put the hosts, who now needed three from the last over, on the brink of victory. As Mahmudullah dispatched a full toss from Anwar to the deep-wicket boundary, the celebrations that ensued were simply unprecedented.
Earlier, Bangladesh were propped up by the fiery performance of their bowlers, led by Al-Amin Hossain (3-25). Pakistan had slipped to 34/4 in 10 overs before Sarfraz and Malik batted sensibly to revive the innings. Malik was dismissed by Sunny Arafat but Sarfraz remained unbeaten to give Pakistan a decent total. It, though, didn’t prove enough.