Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf set first Pakistan-India final in Asia Cup history

Pakistan pulled off a dramatic 11-run win against Bangladesh in Dubai on Thursday, defending a modest 135 to seal their place in the Asia Cup final against arch-rivals India.

The victory was built on a fiery display from Pakistan’s fast bowlers, who rose to the occasion after the batting line-up faltered earlier in the day.

Shaheen Shah Afridi set the tone with the new ball, removing Parvez Hossain Emon for a duck and then dismissing Towhid Hridoy to leave Bangladesh reeling at 23-2. He returned to claim the key wicket of Shamim Hossain (30), finishing with superb figures of 3-17 from his four overs.

Haris Rauf brought the pace and intensity in the middle and death overs. He accounted for Saif Hassan (18) early in his spell, and then returned to knock over Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed in successive overs. His 3-33 included two vital strikes in the 18th over that broke Bangladesh’s lower-order resistance.

Youngster Saim Ayub chipped in with the ball too, snaring Nurul Hasan and captain Jaker Ali to end with an excellent 2-16, while Mohammad Nawaz’s control in the middle overs earned him a wicket and choked the scoring rate.

Despite a fighting 30 from Shamim Hossain and a late cameo from Rishad Hossain (16* off 11), Bangladesh could only reach 124-9 in their 20 overs, falling 11 runs short of the target.

Earlier, Pakistan had stumbled with the bat, reduced to 33-4 inside eight overs. Brief counter-attacks from Mohammad Haris (31), Nawaz (25), and Afridi (19) helped them post 135-8, a total that seemed below par but proved just enough.

Taskin Ahmed (3-28), Rishad Hossain (2-18), and Mahedi Hasan (2-28) were the pick of Bangladesh’s bowlers in the first innings.

With this hard-fought win, Pakistan not only survived a shaky batting performance but also showcased the potency of their pace attack. They will now take on India in a high-voltage Asia Cup final on Sunday.