Bangladesh need only 136 under the Dubai lights this evening after holding Pakistan to 135 for 8 on a well-worn surface that never looked full of runs. India are already through, so a chase of barely a run-a-ball would carry Shakib Al Hasan’s side into Sunday’s final.
Taskin Ahmed, restored to the XI after a rest day against India, struck immediately. Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan’s form batter, carved his fourth ball straight to point. From the other end Mahedi Hasan persuaded Saim Ayub into a mis-hit to mid-on; it was Ayub’s fourth duck in six Asia Cup innings and his ninth in 45 T20 internationals – only Umar Akmal’s ten ducks haunt Pakistan’s record books more often.
The powerplay never recovered. Fakhar Zaman crawled to 12 from 18 balls, then skied leg-spinner Rishad Hossain to wide long-off for 13 from 20. Two balls later Rishad slipped in a wrong-’un and Hussain Talat played all round it. Pakistan were 33 for 4 after nine overs, and the sizeable Bangladeshi contingent in the stands could already sense the final.
Rishad’s spell – 4-0-18-2 with just one boundary conceded – might easily have been grander. Shaheen Shah Afridi was dropped twice off him in the 12th over, strokes that momentarily broke the leg-spinner’s rhythm. Afridi briefly counter-punched, launching the first six of the night and another in Taskin’s next over, but the quick responded with a knee-high full toss that Afridi feathered to the keeper. With figures of 3 for 28 Taskin became, as statisticians confirmed, “only the third Bangladeshi after Shakib and Mustafizur to reach 100 T20I wickets.”
Pakistan’s only real resistance arrived late. Mohammad Haris hustled 31 from 23 balls, sweeping and scooping to disrupt the lengths, while Mohammad Nawaz’s 25 from 15 provided just enough acceleration. Eleven off the last over pulled the total past 130 – better than it had threatened to be, yet still a score Bangladesh will fancy on a ground where 160+ has been par all tournament.
Regular captain Litton Das remains sidelined by a side strain, but he greeted his returning bowlers with broad smiles in the dug-out. Fielding coach Shane McDermott summed up the mood: “We spoke about discipline on this track and the lads nailed it.”
Pakistan must now look for early wickets of their own. The older ball can grip, as Mahedi and Rishad showed, but the first six overs will define the chase. A target of 136 is small, yet pressure in knock-out cricket is a strange companion. As Nawaz admitted while walking off, “We’re 10–15 short, but a couple of quick wickets and anything can happen.”
Anything, though, includes Bangladesh strolling to 136 and a date with India. The equation is simple; the task, on this evidence, should be too.
