Ban to face off Pak in must-win Asia Cup clash today

The crucial match begins at 8.30 PM. T Sports and Nagorik TV will telecast the match live from the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Bangladesh will play the match in less than 24 hours after their 41-run defeat to India.

Both Bangladesh and Pakistan won against Sri Lanka but suffered defeat to India, which had already sealed their place in the final.

Sri Lanka are out of the race, making their contest against India on Friday an inconsequential one.

Bangladesh were expected to give India a torrid time after beating Sri Lanka in dominating fashion. But they simply couldn’t replicate the performance, largely due to India’s vaunted spin attack and pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

The bowlers played their part well, helping the side to claw back into the game after a marauding start by Avishek Sharma. India headed toward a 200 plus total after Avishek helped them reach 112 in 11 overs, by smashing 37 ball-75.

After his run out dismissal, India managed only 56 runs in the last nine overs for four wickets, due to Bangladesh bowlers superlative bowling effort, being restricted to 168-7, a total that looked manageable.

The Indian bowlers made the contest one sided one, wrapping Bangladesh for 127 in 19.3 overs.

Despite the defeat, Bangladesh’s stand-in captain Jaker Ali Anik urged his side to keep faith on their ability to beat Pakistan and set up a final clash against India.

“We have to keep in mind that we can win tomorrow and play the final,” Jaker said after the game against India.

Jaker, however, wants to take the positive from the 41-run defeat to India.

“It's quite surprising, but I take the preparation. All the credit goes to the boys, after ten overs they adjusted brilliantly,” Jaker said, adding that they have a lot to take from this match.

“We can take lots of things from this game, we have another game tomorrow, what we should win. We believe we can win that and make the final.”

Bangladesh, however, may feel they have the genuine chance against Pakistan, whom they beat by 2-1 in a three-match series at home just two months ago.

Moreover, Pakistan though beat Sri Lanka in dominating fashion, they remained inconsistent in the tournament so far.

The two sides met 20 times in T20 format overall with Bangladesh winning five and losing 15.

In Asia Cup the two teams played 15 matches, with Pakistan dominating the contest by winning 13 matches and losing two. However, they met only once in Asia Cup T20 version in 2016, a game that Bangladesh won by five wickets.

Bangladesh’s regular captain Liton Das who missed the India game due to injury is likely to comeback for the crucial game.

Jaker Ali hinted at tinkering the playing XI for a better combination according to pitch and condition. Bangladesh, in fact, didn’t play with same squad in any match in the tournament as of now.

Squad

Bangladesh: Liton Das (c), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Patwari, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Saifuddin.

Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, reports BSS.