In the end, this loss might come as a minor relief for Pakistan. It can only be an indictment of the format and schedule of the tournament that a side could play so poorly and still be one game from a shot at the title. Pakistan, barely able to cling a performance together, finally had their flickering hopes of an unlikely Asia Cup triumph extinguished by a Bangladesh team that, on the day, simply did what needed doing with ruthless efficiency, dispatching Pakistan by 37 runs, and securing a final date with India.
They had two men at opposite ends of their careers to thank for it, an epic rescue act from Mushfiqur Rahim followed by Mustafizur Rahman’s best ODI figures sending Pakistan crashing out of a tournament they never really took off in.
For all of the strides Bangladesh have made in limited-overs cricket over the years, this was still an exceptionally gallant effort from Mashrafe Mortaza’s men. They came into the match having just learned their talisman Shakib al Hasan would play no further part in the tournament. Tamim Iqbal hadn’t been available since the first game. Mashrafe himself would be limited halfway into the Pakistan innings, having injured himself taking a screamer at midwicket to effect arguably the most important dismissal of the match – that of Shoaib Malik.
This was no full-strength Bangladesh, but they made up for it with calculated, intelligent cricket, and an understanding that, in these conditions, they could play to their strengths.
Chasing 240, Pakistan were slight favourites at the halfway mark, but Bangladesh gave them a taste of their own medicine, reducing them to 18 for 3 in the first four overs. Mustafizur was brilliant in the early overs, arguably the only one all tournament to get the new ball to move around occasionally. His variations were judged to perfection; he seemed to understand the Pakistan batsman’s psyche better than they did themselves. Both Babar Azam and Sarfraz Ahmed failed to read the cutters, paying the price with their wickets and exposing Pakistan’s famously fragile middle order within the first five overs.
Imam-ul-Haq struck up a couple of attritional partnerships with Malik and Asif Ali that kept Pakistan dreaming until the last ten overs, but in truth, they were never really ahead in the game after that opening burst. Imam’s innings didn’t have the fluency of Mushfiqur’s, nor its conviction and confidence. Bangladesh’s spinners, ideally suited to strangulating teams mid-chase, followed the template to perfection. A wicket every few overs gave Pakistan a bloody nose, allowing the young Mustafizur, already looking like a leader at 23, to return to deliver the knockout blow. He stomped on any outlandish hopes Pakistan might have continued to harbour, removing Mohammad Nawaz and Hasan Ali – key bit-part players in the chase against Afghanistan – in quick succession, and from there on, all Pakistan could do was delay the inevitable. – Cricinfo
