Nisshin: Pakistan defeated Bangladesh in a curtailed semifinal at the Korogi Sports Park after chasing down 112 in 11.3 overs with six wickets in hand here on Thursday.
Although the weather was clear, a slushy outfield delayed the toss and the start of play due to incessant rains washing out all four quarterfinals in the tournament. The contest was reduced to 13 overs per side as Bangladesh gave Pakistan some scares, but the Men in Green managed to hunt down the target with nine balls to spare.
This is now Pakistan’s first men’s cricket final at the Asiad after they bagged only a bronze medal in the 2010 edition. Meanwhile, Bangladesh were the inaugural champions and have finished third in the 2014 and 2022 Asian Games.
With cracks on the pitch, the spinners received a lot of assistance as they had the major say in the contest. The likes of Sufyan Moqim, Arafat Minhas, Saim Ayub, Rishad Hossain and Mahedi Hasan troubled the batters. Bangladesh managed to put up 111/7 in the 13 overs.
The Pakistani bowlers spun a web to keep Bangladesh to 111/7. Ayub was in particular hard to deal with as he gave only three runs in his two overs for a wicket.
On a sluggish pitch, Bangladesh still had a competitive target with Towhid Hridoy (42 from 25 balls) giving that much-needed push in the middle overs. Bangladesh were losing wickets at regular intervals as Tanzid Hasan Tamim (7), captain Litton Das (2) and Parvez Hossain Emon (1) all lost their wickets inside the powerplay.
The other opener Saif Hassan (19) got a start but could not keep on going as he was dismissed LBW by Moqim. Bangladesh were 45/4 in 6.3 overs but then came the fight from Hridoay, who hit four sixes and two fours in a stroke-laden knock. Mosaddek Hossain also scored 11 from 16 balls as Bangladesh finished on 111/7.
Pakistan were given a scare when Mahedi Hasan removed Sahibzada Farhan in the second over. Maaz Sadaqat (15 from 7 balls), Usman Khan (14 from 9 balls) and Saim Ayub (21 from 12 balls) kept the scoreboard ticking with their cameos.
Pakistan were 76/4 and then got the over that they needed when Abdul Samad and Hasan Nawaz took 23 overs from Mustafizur Rahman’s 10th over, with Samad hitting 22 of them. The Men in Green then needed 13 runs from 18 balls, and they had done the hard work. Nawaz hit the winning four in the 12th over to win the game.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 112/4 (Abdul Samad 30* from 15 balls, Hasan Nawaz 27* from 22 balls; Rishad Hossain 1-12, Mahedi Hasan 1-17) beat Bangladesh 111/7 (Towhid Hridoy 42 from 25 balls, Saif Hassan 19 from 17 balls; Sufyan Moqim 3-26, Arafat Minhas 2-23) by six wickets.
(IANS)
