Bangladesh beats Pakistan to meet India in Asia Cup final

DHAKA, March 3 (Xinhua) — Bangladesh moved into the Asia Cup T20 final with a five-wicket win against Pakistan in the thrilling T20 international match here at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday night.
Batting first, Pakistan set a target of 129 runs in their allocated 20 overs losing seven wickets.
Riding on crucial 22 runs from Mahmudullah and 12 runs from Captain Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh chased down the target losing five wickets.
Bangladesh scored 131/5 in 19.1 over.
Soumya Sarker contributed 48 runs in Bangladesh efforts to reach the target.
Al Amin Hossain took three wickets while A Sunny took two wickets for Bangladesh.
Pakistan Captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bat against the hosts in the opening match of the biennial 12-day tournament.
Tight bowling by the Bangladesh bowlers restricted Pakistan from scoring freely.
Sarfraj Ahmed scored highest 58 runs for Pakistan.
Amir grabbed highest two wickets for for Pakistan.
India had already booked its place in the final of the Asia Cup, a contest for regional supremacy and a final rehearsal for the World T20.
The Asia Cup, which will end on March 6, featured a total of 11 matches which were played by the national teams of five nations — Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, reigning champions Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.
The Asia Cup is being held in Bangladesh for the second time in a row.  Enditem