Asia Cup T20 Match 8 Review: Bangladesh clinch a thriller

An all round performance from an impressive Bangladesh unit saw them enter the final of the Asia Cup T20 2016. A slog off the premier ball of the final over from Mahmudullah ensured that the hosts picked up a 5 wicket win. The Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina too was present to witness the amazing spectacle. The hosts will play India in the final of the Asia Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium on the 6th of March.

Shahid Afridi won the toss and for the first time in the tournament, and opted to bat first. While the decision was probably influenced by the lack of grass on the wicket, it initially proved to be a horrific blunder. The Pakistani top order fell like a pack of cards courtesy of the pace and swing of the Bangladeshi attack. The absence of Mustafizur Rahman was hardly felt as Arafat Sunny, his replacement, stepped up to the plate.

Khurram Manzoor was the first wicket to the fall when he gloved a vicious short delivery from Al-Amin Hossain to Mushfiqur Rahim. Mohammad Hafeez followed Manzoor as he was unluckily adjudged leg before as the struggling Sharjeel Khan’s defenses were breached by Arafat. Umar Akmal’s attempt to get set within the conditions failed miserably as he too made his way back to the dugout. The Pakistanis faced the prospect of yet another humiliating batting performance with the score at 28/4.

Wicketkeeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik were once again thrust with the responsibility of leading a Pakistan revival. Malik picked up where he left off the previous match by smashing a few boundaries to relieve the pressure off himself and his batting partner. Eventually, Malik and Sarfaraz succeeded in reviving the innings as Malik played the Bangladesh bowling with relative ease. He was dismissed after scoring a quickfire 41 off 30 balls including 5 fours and a six. Shahid Afridi had yet another failure with the bat as he was caught at deep mid-wicket for a duck. Sarfaraz Ahmed however, had other plans as he soaked the pressure, playing each ball to its merit. Al-Amin Hossain capped off his impressive performance with the ball as he picked up his third wicket in the final ball of the innings with the fall of Anwar Ali. The Pakistan innings closed at 129/7 in 20 overs.

As they had done for the most part in the tournament, Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Amir wrecked havoc in the initial overs of the innings. The returning Tamim Iqbal did not have the best of comebacks when he was trapped leg before by Irfan playing down the wrong line. Sabbir Rahman, Bangladesh’s hero the previous match failed to carry the momentum as he was cleaned up by skipper Shahid Afridi.

Soumya Sarkar clearly attempted to emulate the Virat Kohli innings as he rotated the strike delightfully. However, Mohammad Amir once again proved to be the catalyst when he rattled the stumps on two occasions to remove Soumya Sarkar and Shakib Al Hasan. The fall of the latter’s wicket saw the hosts staring down the barrel, requiring 26 runs off 16 balls. Enter Mashrafe Mortaza.

The Bangladeshi skipper smashed two boundaries off Mohammad Amir as the hosts inched closer to a well-deserved win. With the match clearly set to go down to the wire, Afridi handed the ball to Mohammad Sami. Sami’s ability to bowl full-length deliveries came to the fore. However, two no-balls from Sami virtually saw the hard-work of the Pakistan bowling attack undone. Mahmudullah smashed a boundary off the first ball of the final over to secure a well deserved and thrilling win for Bangladesh.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan – 129/7 in 20 overs (Sarfaraz 58*; Al-Amin 3/25)

Bangladesh – 131/5 in 19.1 overs (Sarkar 48; Amir 2/26)

Here is how Twitter reacted to Bangladesh’s win – Twitter Reactions: Bangladesh beat Pakistan to make it into the finals