ISLAMABAD - Shahid Afridi proved his mettle as player of big match when he, along with Bangladeshi crowd, forced India fall in Dhaka.
Pakistan was all set for a comfortable victory at one stage, but overcautious batting by M Hafeez and Sohaib Maqsood almost took Pakistan away from victory but Sharjeel Khan too wasted an opportunity to score big runs.
Hafeez and Sohaib although played well for the fifth-wicket partnership of 87, yet the runs came at a very slow pace and when Hafeez was out after scoring 75, the wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Sohaib was also run out and the victory looked far cry, when Pakistan requiring nine runs in the final over with two wickets remaining.
Umar Gul was out at deep long off while Ajmal lost his wicket on very first delivery of Ashwin. Credit also goes to Juniad who managed a single and gave strike to Afridi. Boom Boom then guided Pakistan home with two deliveries to spare and his superb show shut his critics’ mouths.
Pakistan could have restricted India to well below 200 runs, but poor umpiring by the ICC elite panel umpires almost cost Pakistan dearly. Jadeja was clearly out lbw on the ball of Hafeez, but umpire gave the batsman green signal while replays clearly showed that the player was out.
In his debut match, Talha caused a lot of problems for the opponents. Reasons best known to Misbah why he was not allowed to finish his quota of overs as in his seven overs, he picked up 2-22. Ajmal as usual was almost unplayable and took 3-40 while Hafeez and Umar Gul also bowled well.
Pakistan started run-chase in the best possible fashion, but Sharjeel just played a casual stroke and lost his wicket on Ashwin’s delivery. Ahmed Shahzad gifted his wicket on a shot delivery of Mishra and then for the second time in running, Hafeez caused Misbah’s run out. After Umar Akmal’s dismissal, the victory was looking quite impossible, but Hafeez and Sohaib managed to post 87 runs for fifth-wicket stand. But like past, when Pakistan was near to score win, Hafeez, Sohaib, Umar Gul, Talha and Saeed Ajmal fell cheaply.
Afridi was long overdue to play a match-winning innings so he played his role and guided Pakistan towards final of the Asia Cup. It was a slap on the face of Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who was giving over the moon gestures after every wicket.
Bangladeshi crowd must also be applauded for their tremendous support for Pakistan as they supported their big brothers and this gesture meant a lot for Bangladeshi government, who failed to stop their people from lending all-out support to Pakistan.
The team selection was once again not up to the mark. Sharjeel was the one, who should have made way for Talha, not Anwar Ali, as Anwar could bowl some useful overs and is more than handy with the bat at the later order.
Now the momentum has swung in Pakistan’s favour and they must carry on with that and not to sit back against Bangladesh in the last match and must win the match to book berth in the Asia Cup final.