Dubai, Sep 26 (NationPress) In a thrilling encounter, Pakistan's pace attack, featuring Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi, each took three crucial wickets, leading the team to a nail-biting 11-run victory over Bangladesh in the Asia Cup Super Fours. This triumph sets the stage for an electrifying title showdown against their fierce rivals, India.

This will mark the first time in 17 editions of the Asia Cup that India and Pakistan face off in a title match. Shaheen spearheaded the assault, dismantling Bangladesh’s batting lineup, which faltered due to poor shot selections and miscommunication.

Despite a brief resistance from Shamim Hossain, his dismissal to Shaheen triggered a batting collapse, leaving Bangladesh at 124/9 after 20 overs. Shaheen's impressive figures of 3-17 and Rauf's 3-33 were pivotal, with contributions from Saim Ayub and Mohammad Nawaz in the middle overs as Pakistan maintained their composure.

Bangladesh's chase began poorly as Parvez Emon fell for a duck off Shaheen’s bowling in the first over. Saif Hassan attempted to counterattack with a six off Faheem Ashraf, followed by a four and another six off Rauf.

After an unsuccessful review for a caught-behind off Hassan, Pakistan quickly regained control as Towhid Hridoy skied one to backward point off Shaheen. Rauf then dismissed Saif, leaving Bangladesh at 36/3 by the end of the Power-play.

Another setback for Bangladesh occurred when Mahedi Hasan fell attempting a risky shot off Nawaz, resulting in a straightforward catch. The chase continued to unravel as Nurul Hasan and Jaker Ali succumbed to the pressure, both dismissed by Ayub.

Although Shamim persisted, he fell in a calamitous manner to Shaheen in the 17th over. Rauf, after receiving treatment for cramps, struck twice more to seal the win, taking down Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed.

Despite late boundaries from Rishad Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman, it wasn’t enough to clinch victory, setting up a high-stakes face-off against India for the Asia Cup title.

Earlier, fast bowler Taskin Ahmed led a disciplined performance, taking 3-28 as Pakistan struggled to reach 135/8. Bangladesh’s bowlers, including Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, and Mahedi Hasan, took key wickets at regular intervals.

Pakistan’s innings lacked momentum, with Mohammad Haris and Mohammad Nawaz providing the only notable contributions at 31 and 25 runs, respectively. Taskin Ahmed’s early strikes left Pakistan struggling at 27/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Despite a few boundaries from Fakhar Zaman and Salman Agha, the innings faltered, culminating in a final score of 135. Bangladesh appeared favored at the half, but a combination of poor batting and spirited bowling from Pakistan led to the setup of an India-Pakistan clash for the title.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 135/8 in 20 overs (Mohammad Haris 31, Mohammad Nawaz 25; Taskin Ahmed 3-28, Rishad Hossain 2-18) beat Bangladesh 124/9 in 20 overs (Shamim Hossain 30, Saif Hassan 18; Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-17, Haris Rauf 3-33) by 11 runs.