Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– Bangladesh won a riveting match against Pakistan by five wickets to secure their chances of reaching the final against India in the Asia Cup 2016.
Mahmudullah struck the winning runs with five balls left in the match. His 22 from 15 and Mashrafe’s 12 from seven balls ensured no more hiccups after the dismissal of Shakib.
Soumya top-scored with 48 runs.
Those who watch cricket regularly will tell you that in a tight contest, the winning side will always show some signs of their impending triumph. Mahmudullah’s upright blast over extra cover at the start of the 17th over can only be described as the shot of the tournament so far, reports espncricinfo.com.
It was only fair that Mahmudullah also struck the blow that took Bangladesh to the Asia Cup final. Despite Shakib Al Hasan’s brain freeze to Mohammad Amir in the 18th over, Mashrafe Mortaza struck two heroic fours immediately after.
In a manic 19th over bowled by Mohammad Sami which included two no balls, Mahmudullah’s squeezed boundary past point all but sealed victory for the hosts. Once Mahmudullah duly knocked off the winning runs with a slog past midwicket, he and Mashrafe wheeled away in wild celebration, nearly ramming into their on-rushing team-mates.
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicketkeeper), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny and Taskin Ahmed
Pakistan
Mohammad Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (Wicketkeeper), Shahid Afridi (Captain), Anwar Ali, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Irfan
BBN/SSR/AD
