FOR all the talk about their apparent mediocrity after their twin thrashings against India in the Asia Cup, Pakistan have at least upheld the status of being the second best team in the continent.
The status was sealed on Thursday, when Pakistan edged Bangladesh by 11 runs in a tense, low-scoring Super Four encounter.
The win meant Pakistan have beaten all their opponents in the campaign apart from India, and that the archrivals will meet for the third time in three weeks in the Asia Cup final — the first between the two side’s in the tournament’s 17-edition history.
To make it to the title clash, Pakistan needed to get past defending champions Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and the national side did that in the space of three days.
Both Bangladesh and Pakistan had come into Thursday’s encounter on the back of their respective wins against Sri Lanka.
The contest, therefore, was finely poised before Pakistan flexed their muscle, however, in bits and pieces in what was a show of poor batting throughout the 40 overs.
Shaheen, Haris in the groove
Batting may still remain a headache for Pakistan, but what must be pumping the team’s dugout up is how the fast bowlers have come into their element at just the right time in the tournament.
While Shaheen — who looked better with the bat than ball at the start of the tournament — picked up his bowling rhythm from Tuesday’s win against Sri Lanka (3-28), Haris, returned from the bench, to fire 2-26 in Sunday’s six-wicket loss to India.
Both combined against Bangladesh to deliver six scalps, putting up on display a classic, trademark Pakistan pace bowling show. After Shaheen dismantled Bangladesh’s powerplay, Haris arrived later on to finish the job, and made impact with the wicket of Saif Hassan, Bangladesh’s most dangerous batter in the tournament.
There was calculated aggression on display from the duo, who mixed up hitting hard lengths with searing yorkers and deceptive slower ones to shine in the wickets columns and given their form, Shaheen and Haris could show up as box office items in the final.
Batting Weaknesses persist
Although Pakistan were clinical with the ball, they struggled big time with the bat, regardless that it was a tricky surface to play on. It was expected from Pakistan’s top-three to build onto their decent shows against India the last time the side played in Dubai, but both failed miserably against Bangladesh.
Sahibzada Farhan seemed in touch when he cracked a backfoot cover drive early on but how he casually drove the next ball into the fielder’s hands was poor decision-making from the right-hander.
Fakhar Zaman, meanwhile, looked clueless against the Bangladesh spin attack before departing cheaply. And Saim Ayub added a ninth duck to his T20 career stats trying to pick the wrong delivery up over the infield. Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha’s poor run in the Asia Cup continued as his credentials as a T20 batter were questioned once again, while Hussain Talat was also dismissed on a loose delivery.
Lower-order flourish
Had it not been a lower-order flourish, ignited by Shaheen’s 13 off 19 — which included two massive sixes — and marshalled by Mohammad Haris, who stuck around to add a 23-ball 31 before Mohammad Nawaz smashed 25 off 15 (a four and two sixes), Pakistan wouldn’t have been able to cross even the 100-mark.
The effort deep into the innings, infact, saw Pakistan add 80 off the last eight over after having reeling at 49-5 by the end of the 11th over. Despite the top-ordee failure, the lower-order’s utility came in handy for Pakistan, which is a huge confidence-boostimg point ahead of a clash which would require heaps of it.
Bangladesh were poor too
Bangladesh, for their part, were ordinary. Chasing 136, they never found rhythm. Regular wickets crippled their response, with Shamim Hossain’s 30 the only notable resistance. Saif Hassan briefly threatened before Haris accounted for him, and the rest folded without offering a fight.
Crucially, Bangladesh also let Pakistan off the hook in the field, spilling chances that could have swung momentum. In a game decided by slim margins, such sloppiness proved costly.
Pakistan’s spinners also deserve credit for applying the brakes. Saim Ayub’s tidy spell of 2-16 kept Bangladesh on the leash, while Nawaz bowled with control to choke the middle overs. It was the kind of collective effort that ensured the pace bowlers’ early breakthroughs did not go to waste.
For Bangladesh, the failure to chase down a modest target underlines a gulf in execution. For Pakistan, the win reinforces the formula that has carried them so far: pace potency, lower-order grit and just enough from the rest. But against India in a final, where mistakes are punished ruthlessly, more will be needed.
Header Image: Haris Rauf celebrates after dismissing Bangladesh’s Tanzim Hasan Sakib during the Asia Cup 2025 Super Four Twenty20 international cricket match at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on September 25.
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