Pakistan vs Bangladesh – Asia Cup 2012 Finale – Match Preview
The stage is all set for one of the least expected Asia Cup 2012 finale between hosts Bangladesh and Pakistan to be played today, March 22, 2012, at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka.
To call it the least expected final is not an understatement as Bangladesh have never ever reached the final of any tournament they have participated in and playing the Asia Cup against the top three teams from Asia who carry world class players and then securing a place in the final is a dream come true for the Bangladesh supporters.
The situation is quite unbelievable as before the tournament Bangladesh had secured only two wins in nine tournaments after playing 29 matches, and with this record who could have thought that the side would beat India and then http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 to meet Pakistan in the final.
As they say fortune favours the brave, Bangladesh have been extremely positive and risky in the tournament where they have not been intimidated by teams while chasing a score.
They chased a huge total against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 on Friday, March 16th in the fourth match of the tournament where they left the Indians flabbergasted after overcoming a tally of 290 runs to win the match and repeated a similar performance against the Lankans in the sixth match, where they chased a target of 212 runs to win the game.
The combination of luck and pure hard work has now given Bangladesh an opportunity to write a new chapter in history by winning the Asia Cup, but that is still easier said than done, because http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 are not an easy opposition and will surely not let Bangladesh cruise to a tournament victory.
Pakistan also have a point to prove, as after losing to India in their last league game, where they failed to defend a massive tally of 329 runs, they will be aiming to come back harder at Bangladesh.
Speaking on their recent performance, Bangladesh skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mushfiqur-Rahim-c2045 said, "If you noticed, we lost a very close match to Pakistan, then the next match [against India] we played better and played even better in the last match [against Sri Lanka]. This was our aim because if you play consistently well against the big teams then you will be able to win matches regularly."
Meanwhile, Pakistan are not oblivious of the fact that Bangladesh are in a zone and would not be easy to beat and having beaten them before in the tournament, does not mean Bangladesh will let Pakistan win over them again.
Speaking on Bangladesh’s performance, Pakistan’s middle-order batsman Younis Khan said, “They play good as a group, not individually, If you see the last two games when they won against India and Sri Lanka, they performed as a group."
Pitch Report:
In the current tournament, the pitch at Mirpur has been slow in the later part of the innings, where the side batting second has managed to chase even the biggest of totals.
The pitch is going to be batsman friendly and teams could score a massive total on the board.
Key Players:
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tamim-Iqbal-c2640 is Bangladesh’s trump guard and with his current form he will be expected to wreck the Pakistan bowling attack early on to enforce Bangladesh’s batting against the Men in Green.
Shakib Al http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hasan-c61990, Bangladesh’s ace all-rounder is another man to watch out for as he will also be a player raring to leave a mark in the final.
Pakistan
From Pakistan, opener Mohammad Hafeez holds the key to success and if he gets going the way he did against India, then Bangladesh will have a difficult time in containing Pakistan.
In the middle-order http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Younis-Khan-c98325, who out of the blue found his form in Pakistan’s last match will be equally important and could give Bangladesh a run for their money.
Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq are the walls in the middle-order for Pakistan and dismissing them as soon as possible would be Bangladesh’s top priority.
In the bowling department, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859 will not shy away from dismantling Bangladesh’s batting line-up.
Expected squads:
Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahadat-Hossain-c2480
Pakistan: 1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sarfraz-Ahmed-c88818 (wk), 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Aizaz Cheema
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