Asia Cup 2018: Bangladesh knock Pakistan out, to meet India in the final

Mushfiqur’s 99 and Mohammad Mithun’s 60 were instrumental in Bangladesh’s win against Paksitan

Asia Cup 2018| Gritty Bangladesh set up a final clash with India in the Asia Cup after stunning Pakistan by 37 runs in the last Super Four match, riding on Mushfiqur Rahim’s valiant 99 here.

Mushfiqur notched up his 30th half-century, while Mohammad Mithun made 60 to lift Bangladesh to a decent 239 all out from a precarious position after skipper Mashrafe Mortaza opted to bat in the virtual semifinal on Wednesday night.

Mushfiqur was unlucky as he fell one short of what could have been his seventh ODI century but did enough to rescue Bangladesh with a 144-run fourth wicket stand with Mithun after they were reduced to 12 for three inside five overs.

(Sports)

Later, opener Imam-ul-Haq (83) turned out to be the lone bright spot for Pakistan as they faltered in pursuit of the modest chase and were restricted to 202 for nine.

Bangladesh will now take on India in the title clash in Dubai on Friday.

Just like Bangladesh, Pakistan’s chase got off to a disastrous start as they were reduced to 18 for three in 3.3 overs.

But Imam did not give up the fight and stitched two crucial partnerships with Shoaib Malik (30) and Asif Ali (31) to keep Pakistan in the hunt.

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Asia Cup 2018: Rashid, Shahzad help Afghanistan stun India with a tie

More than the result, Afghanistan’s performance was reiteration that they are ready to take on any team in shorter formats of the game

                             Afghanistan cricket Team. Photo: @ICC

Afghanistan’s unheralded bunch made the biggest impact in their nascent international careers by pulling off a thrilling tie which in fact was a moral victory against India in one of the most memorable encounters in the history of Asia Cup.

Twenty20 cricket’s global superstar Rashid Khan showed a big heart as he defended only seven runs that a second string India required in order to chase down a target of 253 in the final Super Four encounter on Wednesday.

With the dangerous Ravindra Jadeja almost clinching the victory with a boundary and then No 11 Khaleel Ahmed scampering home for his life to tie the scores, only a single was all that was required off two deliveries.| Asia Cup 2018

If inexperience cost them dearly in the two games against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the rub of the green went their way as Rashid bowled a rank half-tracker, a delivery that Jadeja would have dispatched in the Dubai International Stadium gallery.

But to the Indian team’s horror, he didn’t get the timing right and the resultant catch was taken by Najibullah Zadran, who covered some distance to take a fine running catch at deep mid-wicket region.

More (Sports) than the result, Afghanistan’s performance was reiteration that they are ready to take on any team in shorter formats of the game.

India’s support was vociferous but the bravehearts from the war-torn nation became sentimental favourites as the tournament progressed as they won hearts with their raw talent and cent per cent commitment.

Opener Mohammad Shahzad had set up the game for Afghanistan with a whirlwind 124 off 116, the most significant hundred of his career, to take his team to 252 for eight.

The 253-run target was a tricky one for India. India, who have already qualified for the final on Friday, remained unbeaten in the competition though they were left disappointed with the tie. Afghanistan players, on the other hand, can go back home with their heads held high, having competed hard in the tournament.

India made as many as five changes in the eleven to give an opportunity to the reserves and rest key players including captain Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal.

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Asia Cup 2018, Ind vs Afg: Afghanistan’s spin trio to test India’s batting

Afghanistan will be once again banking on their strong batting to put a total in excess of 250 on the board before unleashing their spin trio of Mohammed Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan

Asia Cup 2018| After qualifying for the Asia Cup 2018 Final, India will up against resurgent Afghanistan in their last Super clash at Dubai International Stadium in United Arab Emirates today. India made it to the finals crushing Pakistan by 9 wickets while Afghanistan are coming into their last Asia Cup match after losing to Bangladesh in a last over thriller which they lost by 3 runs. In an inconsequential match, India might make some changes in their playing 11 and test their bench strength.

India and Afghanistan Asia Cup Journey

On Sunday, India made a mockery of Pakistan’s below-par target of 237 with the opening duo of skipper Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan stitching together a 210-run stand to guide the Men-in-Blue to a 9-wicket win en-route the September 28 final. India had earlier defeated Bangladesh in their first Super 4 match, to remain as the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far.

India team news

Aware of the threat the Afghans could pose, despite being an inconsequential tie for the Men-in-Blue, Rohit Sharma and the team management could opt to rest some of the main players ahead of the final and test the bench. (BS)In such a scenario, Lokesh Rahul and Manish Pandey could get a look-in in the middle order while medium pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Deepak Chahar could come in to give Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah much-needed rest before the final.

Afghanistan team news

On the other hand, having lost both their Super Four matches so far, Afghanistan are already out of contention for the final but their performances have surely won a million hearts. Afghanistan will be once again banking on their strong batting to put a total in excess of 250 on the board before unleashing their spin trio of Mohammed Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan to have a go at the mighty Indian line-up. 

Here are the playing 11 probables of both the sides:

India playing 11: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan/K L Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, M S Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah/Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzuvendra Chahal

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