So far and so near
Pakistan win Asia Cup:
Pakistan regained the Asia Cup title after a gap of 12 years as they
pulled off a nail-biting two run victory against Bangladesh who came
agonisingly close to a historic triumph but ran out of steam in the
dying moments to go past the target here today.
Pakistan were restricted to a modest 236 for nine but held their
nerve to stop the spirited hosts at 234 for eight, shattering
Bangladeshi hopes of notching up their maiden Asia Cup title.
It was a case of so near and yet so far for the Bangladeshis who
reached the final for the first time and very nearly upstaged their
fancied opponents in a tournament in which they upset world champions
India and Sri Lanka.
The hosts needed nine runs off Aizaz Cheema’s tense last over but
fell short by two runs as a stunned silence descended on a fully packed
Sher-e-Bangla National stadium. Disappointed Bangladeshi players shed
tears on the field while fans were equally heart-broken after the
nerve-wracking contest.
The in-form Shakib Al Hasan (68) and Tamim Iqbal (60) were the
notable performers for Bangladesh but none of the other batsmen could
come up with significant scores to tilt the scale in their favour.
Chasing a modest target, Bangladesh made a watchful start to their
run chase as openers Tamim Iqbal and Nazimuddin (16) shunned
extravagance and looked to keep their wickets intact and soon cantered
to 62 for no loss in the first 15 overs.
With left-handed Iqbal in full flow, Saeed Ajmal was introduced into
the attack but Bangladesh still picked up a lucky boundary, this time
between the wicketkeeper and the leg slip.
While Tamim flourished, Nazimuddin struggled against the spinners. He
survived a leg before decision in the 10th over and could have been out
in the 12th over as well when he hit hard a Aizaz Cheema ball but Hammad
Azam could hold on to the catch at the third man area.
PTI
Pakistan
Mohammad Hafeez c Nazmul b Razzak 40
Nasir Jamshed c Mahmudullah b Mortaza 9
Younis Khan lbw b Nazmul 1
Misbah-ul-Haq run out 13
Umar Akmal c Rahim b Mahmudullah 30
Hammad Azam c and b Shakib 30
Shahid Afridi c Nasir b Shakib 32
Sarfraz Ahmed not out 46
Umar Gul c Shakib b Mortaza 4
Saeed Ajmal b Razzak 4
Aizaz Cheema not out 9
Extras (b2, lb8, nb4, w4) 18
Total (for nine wickets; 50 overs) 236
Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Jamshed), 2-19 (Younis), 3-55 (Misbah), 4-70 (Hafeez), 5-129 (Azam),
6-133 (Akmal), 7-178 (Afridi), 8-199 (Gul), 9-206 (Ajmal).
Bowling: Mortaza 10-0-48-2 (w1), Nazmul 8-1-36-1, Razzak 10-3-26-2,
Shahadat 9-0-63-0 (nb4, w2), Shakib 10-1-39-2 (w1), Mahmudullah 3-0-14-1.
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal c Younis b Gul 60
Mohammad Nazimuddin c Younis b Afridi 16
Jahurul Islam c Younis b Ajmal 0
Nasir Hossain c Misbah b Gul 28
Shakib Al Hasan b Cheema 68
Mushfiqur Rahim c Jamshed b Cheema 10
Mohammad Mahmudullah not out 17
Mashrafe Mortaza c Jamshed b Ajmal 18
Abdur Razzak b Cheema 6
Shahadat Hossain not out 0
Extras (lb5, nb2, w4) 11
Total (for eight wickets; 50 overs) 234
Fall of wickets: 1-68 (Nazimuddin), 2-68 (Jahurul), 3-81 (Tamim), 4-170 (Nasir),
5-179 (Shakib), 6-190 (Rahim), 7-218 (Mortaza), 8-233 (Razzak).
Bowling: Hafeez 10-0-30-0 (w1), Gul 10-2-65-2 (nb1), Ajmal 10-2-40-2 (w1),
Afridi 10-1-28-1 (w1), Cheema 7-0-46-3 (nb1), Azam 3-0-20-0 (w1).
|
