Asia Cup T20 2016, Highlights: Soumya Sarkar, Al Amin Hossain Help Bangladesh Knock Pakistan Out, Face India In Final
Bangladesh hold nerve to beat Pakistan by five wickets and set up Sunday's Asia Cup T20 2016 final vs India. Catch the match highlights here
Bangladesh will face India in the Asia Cup T20 2016 final on Sunday. Soumya Sarkar and Al Amin Hossain starred in Bangladesh's thrilling win. Catch the match highlights here. (SCORECARD | POINTS TABLE | LATEST NEWS | WORLD T20)
2245 hrs IST: QUOTES!
Mashrafe Mortaza: It's a big win. It was like semifinal. I told the boys to take no pressure. Not taking pressure for final vs India. We should play as a team
Shahid Afridi: I want to congratulate both Bangladesh and India for entering the final. We have to do something very special in World Twenty20. We should not repeat our mistakes.
2229 hrs IST: That's it and Bangladesh have knocked Pakistan out of the tournament with a five-wicket win. Chasing 130 for a win and a place in final, Bangladesh went after it from ball one. Pakistan picked up early wickets but Soumya Sarkar (48) showed great character and resistance to keep the hosts alive in the contest. Towards the end, a flurry of wickets took an interesting turn of events and it looked like Pakistan will sail through the hurricane. But it was the Mortaza and Mahmudullah who kept their cool and hit some valuable runs.
2216 hrs IST: WICKET! Amir is turning the heat on with another wicket. Shakib Al Hasan is clean bowled by Amir. Bangladesh 104/5, need 26 from 16 balls.
2212 hrs IST: The match is evenly balanced after 17 overs. Bangladesh need 26 more with six wickets in hand. Can they?
2158 hrs IST: WICKET! Pakistan are back in this contest. Shoaib Malik traps Mushfiqur Rahim leg before for 12. Bangladesh 88/4 in 14.2 overs.
2150 hrs IST: WICKET! Mohammad Amir gets his man. Soumya Sarkar was looking good but is bowled through gates for 48. Bangladesh 83/3 in 13.2 overs.
2137 hrs IST: Soumya Sarkar is batting beautifully at the moment. Bangladesh 65/2 in 10 overs.
2127 hrs IST: WICKET! Shahid Afridi delivers in his second over. Gets Sabbir Rahman for 14. Bangladesh 46/2 in 8.1 overs.
Bangladesh reaches to 34-1 after the powerplay chasing 129. https://t.co/YGdL0EVuks #BANvPAK #AsiaCupT20 pic.twitter.com/rhXLuvGz1i
- Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) 2 March 2016
2115 hrs IST: Bangladesh are off to a steady start after losing Tamim Iqbal early. Bangladesh 34/1 in 6 overs.
2055 hrs IST: WICKET! Tamim Iqbal (7) gone for LBW off Mohammad Irfan. Bangladesh 13/1 (1.4 overs)
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2038 hrs IST: That's the end of the first innings and Pakistan finish on 129 for seven, thanks to an unbeaten 58 by Sarfraz Ahmed. Al Amin Hossain picked up three for 25.
2031 hrs IST: FIFTY! Sarfraz Ahmed brings up his second half-century with a beautiful four through covers. Pakistan 117/6 in 19 overs.
2024 hrs IST: WICKET! No big hits from Shahid Afridi as he is gone for second-ball duck. He is already under-fire for his poor form with the bat and this could only worsen things. Afridi hits a full toss straight to Sabbir at deep mid-wicket and Al Amin gets his second wicket. Pakistan 102/6 in 17.4 overs.
2019 hrs IST: WICKET! Shoaib Malik departs for 41. Shoaib attempts slog sweep but gets a top edge in the process. The ball goes high up in the air and a catch is taken at deep mid-wicket by Sabbir Rahman. Arafat Sunny gets his second wicket. Pakistan 98/5 in 16.4 overs.
2009 hrs IST: Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed have taken the attack back to the bowlers.The duo has put on 51 runs for for the fifth wicket. Pakistan 79/4 in 15 overs.
1954 hrs IST: All eyes are on in-form Shoaib Malik, who scored and unbeaten fifty to guide Pakistan to victory against UAE, as he joins Sarfraz Ahmed, who looks in good touch. Can the duo bail out Pakistan from here? Pakistan 34/4 in 10 overs.
1942 hrs IST: WICKET! Taskin Ahmed is on fire. He is rewarded for bowling tight line as he gets Umar Akmal for four. Akmal makes room to go over extra cover but mistimes it to sweeper cover where Shakib Al Hasan completes a good catch. The Men in Green are in all sorts of trouble here. Pakistan 28/4 in 8.2 overs.
1926 hrs IST: WICKET! Mashrafe Mortaza joins the party as he traps Mohammad Hafeez leg before wicket for two. Pakistan 18/3 in 4.5 overs.
1921 hrs IST: WICKET! Arafat Sunny removes Sharjeel Khan in his first over. Sharjeel goes down on his knees to sweep but misses straighter delivery that uproots his stumps. Pakistan 12/2 in 3.5 overs.
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1917 hrs IST: Bangladesh pacers have been very tight so far. After a brilliant first over, Taskin Ahmed bowls a maiden over. Pakistan 8/1 in 3 overs.
Al-Amin brings early breakthrough for @BCBtigers as Pakistan 8-1 after 2 overs. https://t.co/YGdL0EVuks #BANvPAK pic.twitter.com/KbxCBdziSE
- Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) 2 March 2016
1907 hrs IST: WICKET! Al Amin Hossain strikes in his first over as he gets Khurram Manzoor for 1. Hossain bowls a good length delivery and gets an extra bounce, Khurram tries to fend it but ends up gloving it to Mushfiqur Rahim behind stumps. Pakistan 1/1 in 1.1 overs.
1903 hrs IST: Pakistan batsmen Khurram Manzoor and Mohammad Hafeez are out in the middle. Taskin Ahmed starts proceedings. Pakistan 1/0 (1 over)
1840 hrs IST: TEAMS
Pakistan: Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Khurram Manzoor, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Irfan
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain
1833 hrs IST: TOSS! Pakistan have won the toss and they will bat first. Bangladesh include Tamim Iqbal and Arafat Sunny for Mustafizur Rahman and Nrurl Hasan in their playing XI.
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Having stunned defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh are a win away from entering the Asia Cup T20 final at home. With big-hitting Tamim Iqbal expected to buoy the Bangladesh batting, the hosts could not have asked for a better boost. If Bangladesh batsmen can ward off Pakistan's telling pace attack, half the job will be done.
Interestingly, Bangladesh have won the only T20 international played against Pakistan. In April 2015, Bangladesh, chasing 142, won by seven wickets with 22 balls remaining to underline their expertise in the shortest format of the game.
In that one-sided match, played under lights at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Shakib Al-Hasan scored a 41-ball 57 not out and Sabbir Rahman matched him run-for run (32-ball 51 not out) as Bangladesh routed the Shahid Afridi-led side. Both Shakib and Sabbir have been central to Bangladesh's campaign in the Asia Cup so far.
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Afridi is under pressure to deliver. His position in the team has been questioned by the legendary Javed Miandad. Having lost to India, Pakistan's only win has come against UAE. Mohammad Amir has shouldered Pakistan's bowling admirably but a lot will depend on the top order batting, where Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal have shown streaks of form against UAE.
Bangladesh will surely miss the injured Mustafizur Rahman. The left-arm pacer, who took 2 for 20 in his debut match against Pakistan, was in good form in the Asia Cup. But Bangladesh have enough bowling firepower in their tank to exploit the conditions in Mirpur. The better batting team should prevail in this needle contest.