Asian Games: Pakistan Beat Bangladesh in Rain-Affected Semifinal to Reach Gold Medal Match

The match was reduced to 13 overs per side after persistent rain left the outfield slushy, delaying the toss and the start of play. Pakistan chased down Bangladesh's target of 112 in 11.3 overs, finishing with six wickets in hand and nine balls remaining.

The result marks Pakistan's first appearance in the men's cricket final at the Asian Games. Pakistan had won a bronze medal at the 2010 edition, while Bangladesh were the inaugural champions and went on to finish third in 2014 and 2022.

The cracked surface offered considerable assistance to spinners, with both teams relying heavily on their slow bowlers. Pakistan's Sufyan Moqim, Arafat Minhas and Saim Ayub, along with Bangladesh's Rishad Hossain and Mahedi Hasan, caused problems for the batters.

Bangladesh were restricted to 111/7 in their 13 overs. They lost Tanzid Hasan Tamim, captain Litton Das and Parvez Hossain Emon inside the powerplay, while Saif Hassan made 19 before being trapped lbw by Moqim.

Bangladesh slipped to 45/4 in 6.3 overs before Towhid Hridoy launched a counterattack. Hridoy struck four sixes and two fours in his 42 off 25 balls to give his team a competitive total on the difficult surface.

Mosaddek Hossain contributed 11 off 16 balls as Bangladesh finished on 111/7. Moqim was Pakistan's leading bowler with 3/26, while Minhas claimed 2/23. Ayub was particularly economical, conceding just three runs from his two overs while taking a wicket.

Pakistan's chase suffered an early setback when Mahedi Hasan dismissed Sahibzada Farhan in the second over. However, Maaz Sadaqat, Usman Khan and Saim Ayub kept the innings moving with useful cameos.

Sadaqat scored 15 from seven balls, Usman made 14 off nine and Ayub contributed 21 from 12 balls as Pakistan reached 76/4.

The match turned decisively in Pakistan's favour when Abdul Samad and Hasan Nawaz attacked Mustafizur Rahman in the 10th over, scoring 23 runs from it. Samad contributed 22 of those runs to leave Pakistan needing only 13 from the final 18 deliveries.

The chase was completed in the 12th over, with Nawaz hitting the winning boundary to send Pakistan into the gold medal match.

**Brief Scores:** Pakistan 112/4 (Abdul Samad 30*, Hasan Nawaz 27*; Rishad Hossain 1/12, Mahedi Hasan 1/17) beat Bangladesh 111/7 (Towhid Hridoy 42, Saif Hassan 19; Sufyan Moqim 3/26, Arafat Minhas 2/23) by six wickets.