The high-stakes game between Pakistan and Bangladesh, which was like a semi-final for a position in the Asia Cup final, was marred by a funny but expensive mistake by the Salman Ali Agha-led team. The Pakistan fielders didn’t seem to be at their best, and they left “traces of lapses” that rapidly made the squad a target for online ridicule. Shaheen Afridi led the defense of a moderate total of 135 runs.
The Run-Out Mess
The most famous event, a real “comedy of errors,” happened on the first delivery of the fifth over. The mix-up began when Shaheen Shah Afridi threw the ball to Towhid Hridoy. Hridoy delicately pushed the ball to the point fielder, and Saif Hassan, who was running from the non-striker’s end, quickly ran for a single. But Hridoy didn’t move, which caused a huge mess that left both Bangladeshi batsmen stuck at the same end of the pitch.
Saim Ayub, the point fielder who made the stop, had a great chance but threw weakly to the non-striker’s end. To make matters worse, there was no one behind the stumps to catch the ball. The backup fielder was caught off guard as the throw missed the stumps. This gave Hassan, who was running back, enough time to slide safely into his crease before the ball could be controlled and sent back. The failed run-out against Saif Hassan, Bangladesh’s top batsman in the tournament, could have been a huge mistake.
Haris Rauf Limited Damage
Fortunately for Pakistan, the mistake didn’t cost them their defense. Hassan had waged a lone struggle with 69 runs in the last game against India, but he didn’t take advantage of his fortuitous break.
In the next over, pacer Haris Rauf did his best to limit the damage. Rauf’s good-length ball on the first delivery of the sixth over made Hassan miss timing an attempted clip to the onside. The leading edge went to backward point, where Saim Ayub caught it safely, making up for the run-out miss.
Bangladesh lost their third wicket during the powerplay, and they only had 29 runs on the board. This gave Pakistan an advantage, especially as the Bangladeshi middle order had trouble with spin throughout the tournament and Pakistan’s spin bowlers hadn’t yet been used in the attack.
Pakistan really wants to win so they can play India, their biggest adversary, in the final. They want to get back at India for beating them twice before. Even though they made mistakes in the field, they were able to take wickets quickly during the powerplay, which placed them on the right road to defend their total.