Pakistan v Bangladesh – Asia Cup 2012 Finale – Match Recap
Pakistan 236/9 (50 ov) v Bangladesh 234/8 (50.0 ov) - Pakistan won their second ever Asia Cup title by 2 runs
Pakistan on Thursday, March 22, 2012, won their second ever Asia Cup after beating - least expected opponents - Bangladesh in the finale by two runs in a thrilling match at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747.
Pakistan prevailed in the dramatic match as they were given a befitting competition by the minnows.
Nonetheless, Pakistan lifted the cup, leaving Bangladesh fans disappointed and in tears, as the hosts fell short only a couple of runs from their epic win.
For a side that lacked form and fitness just a year ago and were looking in no position to even make their opponents sweat in the Asia Cup, reaching the final and then almost grabbing win from the clutches of a team like Pakistan is an honour for them by all standards.
Earlier, after winning the toss Bangladesh went for their strength and chose to bat second as they defeated http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 while chasing and they wanted to keep their chasing streak intact in the final.
Pakistan on the other hand, looked nervous at the start of their innings as openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jamshed-c66276 was sent packing by Mashrafe Mortaza after knocking only nine runs.
Bangladesh fans went wild when their side got rid of Pakistan veteran http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Younis-Khan-c98325, who was given a controversial lbw on just a run.
Hafeez was then joined by skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 as the batsmen sought a halt in the Bangladesh onslaught.
However, with 55 runs on the board, Haq was run out after scoring 13 runs off 23 deliveries. With the skipper back in the pavilion, it was time for the young http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Akmal-c94595 to take the field.
Together Hafeez and Akmal forged a respectable partnership as the batsmen played mature shots without taking too many risks.
However, the partnership that had all the hallmarks of becoming a headache for the hosts was short lived as Hafeez departed after playing a staggering innings of 40 runs. At the time of his departure, Pakistan were on a tally of 70.
Pakistan’s young guns Akmal and Hammad Azam then belted a match saving innings as they stood their own and prevented Bangladesh from making anymore inroads.
Both players lost their wickets after scoring 30 runs.
Later, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 hit a blazing knock of 32 runs off 22 deliveries which included four boundaries and a six.
Wicketkeeper/batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sarfraz-Ahmed-c88818, was the highest scorer from his side by staying unbeaten on a tally of 46 as Pakistan bolstered a respectable total of 236 runs in 50 overs.
Coming out to bat, Bangladesh looked calm as a cucumber with openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tamim-Iqbal-c2640 and Nazimuddin taking charge right from the word go.
While Iqbal did maximum damage, the partnership finally came to an end with 68 runs on the board as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammed-Nazimuddin-c77528 was removed by Shahid Afridi on 16 runs.
On the penultimate delivery of the next over, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jahurul-Islam-c1624, who failed to score a run.
With 81 runs on the board, Bangladesh lost the services of Iqbal, who perished after hammering a stupendous innings of 60 runs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hasan-c61990 then initiated resurgence as they stood defiant in the face of a blistering bowling offensive from Pakistan.
The duo took the team tally to 170 runs and before the partnership was broken Bangladesh seemed well set to write a new chapter in history by winning their first ever grand title.
However, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Gul-c94604 grabbed the prized wicket of Hossain (28) and then soon after Hasan had his stumps shattered by Aizaz Cheema in the 44th over.
With the top Bangladesh batsmen gone, Pakistan got hold of the match and kept dismissing batsmen at regular interval.
Nonetheless, the match went down to the wire leaving http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Aizaz-Cheema-c961 to bowl the last over when Bangladesh needed just nine runs to win the match.
Cheema bowled exceptionally well and ended the match in a thriller by hitting the stumps of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abdur-Razzak-c41688 on the penultimate delivery and then bolted a sensational yorker on the last delivery of the match to secure the game for his team.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shakib-Al-Hasan-c89559 was named as the Player of the series, while Pakistan's all-rounder Shahid Afridi was named as the Player of the Match.
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