Desk Report: Pakistan made their highest successful run chase on Tuesday to beat Bangladesh by three wickets in the penultimate ball of a drama-packed nail-biter to storm into the Asia Cup final. A blinder from Shahid Afridi hammered 59 off only 25 balls bludgeoning two boundaries and seven sixes to consign the Tigers to another heart-breaking defeat.

Umar Akmal smashed a boundary through the midwicket to bring up the winning runs (329 for 7) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, dumping India and Afghanistan out.

Pakistan will play Sri Lanka in the final on Saturday, having lost their earlier fixture after Lasith Malinga ripped through their middle and lower-order.

Fawad Alam (74 off 70 balls) paced his innings brilliantly to bring his team to coast after dangerman Afridi was caught short by a Shakib Al Hasan direct hit from mid-off. By then, the right-hander, fondly called �Boom Boom� by his fans, had raked up the second fastest ODI half-century.

Alam smashed two sixes off left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak in the 48th over to take the game away from the hosts and when was run out his team required two off two balls. He scored his fifty off 57 deliveries, holding one end patiently to help push his team forward.

Bangladeshi skipper Mushfiqur Rahim dropped Afridi on 52 off Al-Amin Hossain with Pakistan still needing 41 runs off 22 balls. Afridi had miscued the lusty hit off the toe end of the bat that ballooned over the cover, Mushfiq ran to his right, positioned himself under it and fluffed it.

Openers Ahmed Shehzad (103) and Mohammad Hafeez (52) set up the platform for Afridi to unleash mayhem on Bangladesh.

After a solid 97-run opening stand, Bangladesh spinners pegged the favourites back who lost three wickets in as many overs in the space of eight runs.

Mominul Haque drew the first blood for the hosts, sending back Hafeez for 52.

Shakib then breached the defences of captain Misbah-ul-Haq (4). Mominul then had Sohaib Maqsood caught behind for 2 even though replays showed the bat had made no contact with the ball.

Bangladesh, deciding to bat first, put up a colossal 326 � their highest ODI total � for three. The hosts bludgeoned 122 runs in the last 10 overs to go past the 300-mark.

Excellent cameos from Mushfiqur and Shakib, unbeaten on 51 and 44 respectively, added 77 off just 34 deliveries.

Shakib looked like a man on mission plundering the bowling at will. Pakistan's bowling and fielding went to pieces as the hosts went past 300, much to the delight of the vociferous and partisan Dhaka crowd.

A solid 150-run opening stand between Anamul Haque and Imrul Kayes, the best in the tournament, gave hosts a strong foundation.

Anamul brought up his second ODI hundred off 131 deliveries, smashing six fours and four sixes before he was sent back by Saeed Ajmal.

Imrul added 59 before he was caught off a Mohammad Talha delivery.

Mominul Haque joined the batting feast scoring his third ODI fifty as Bangladesh pummelled the Pakistan attack to all parts of the ground. He was the last casualty for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh went past the 320 they scored against Zimbabwe in 2009. Bangladesh made 121 runs from the last 10 overs. The crowd shrieked in delight, while the stunned Pakistan team walked away at the interval.

Pakistan found themselves a bowler short after spinner Abdur Rehman was taken out of the attack for bizarre bowling after he bowled three beamers, two of them high full tosses, all of which were called no-ball for height to return figures of 0-0-8-0.source-bdnews 

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Local Time : 014 Hours, 05 March 2024