Pakistan set up an Asia Cup final showdown with India after successfully defending 136 to beat Bangladesh by 11 runs.
Two-time winners Pakistan have met the defending champions twice already during the tournament, with India winning on both occasions, but the matches have garnered more attention for the friction between the two sides than for the cricket.
The players did not shake hands following India’s seven-wicket win in the group stage, with Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson saying India refused to do so. There was also no handshake between the captains at the toss.
A similar scenario played out during their subsequent meeting in the Super Fours, which India won by six wickets. There were also numerous flashpoints between the players during the match, most notably when the umpire had to step in between India opener Abhishek Sharma and Pakistan bowler Haris Rauf.
The final will take place in Dubai on Sunday.
Pakistan and Bangladesh headed into the penultimate match of the Super Four stage knowing the winner would advance to the final and Bangladesh had one foot in Sunday’s trophy match when they restricted Pakistan to 135-8.
Taskin Ahmed (3-28) and Mahedi Hasan (2-28) struck early to reduce Pakistan to 5-2 inside 10 balls and wickets continued to fall as the batting side teetered on 49-5 in the 11th over.
Wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris top-scored with 31 (23) to drag Pakistan into three figures, enjoying partnerships with Shaheen Shah Afridi (19) and Mohammad Nawaz (25), but Mahedi and Taskin dismissed the trio to prevent any late fireworks.
Bangladesh had their own struggles with the bat, losing three wicket in the powerplay and later slumping to 44-4.
Shamim Hossain’s 30 (25) briefly revived their hopes of a successful chase but his dismissal by Shaheen (3-17) in the 17th over was quickly followed by two wickets in three balls from Haris Rauf and despite some late boundaries from Rishad Hossain, Bangladesh fell short.
Bangladesh, who are yet to win the men’s Asia Cup, join Sri Lanka in being eliminated in the Super Fours, with the latter facing unbeaten India in the final group match on Friday.
-Agencies
