Pakistan take on Bangladesh in the final Super Four match — a knockout encounter — of Asia Cup 2018 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, September 26.
When is the Super Four match and how to watch it live
The virtual semi-final between Pakistan and Bangladesh will start at 3:30 pm local time, 5 pm IST and 12:30 pm BST.
Star Sports 1, Star Sports Hindi and Star Sports Tamil will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar.
What to expect from the match
With a final berth up for grabs, the last Super Four match of Asia Cup 2018 is all set to be a cracker.
Pakistan are heading into the match on the back of a nine-wicket thrashing by arch-rivals India, who have already sealed their place in the final, scheduled for Friday.
The Men in Green were let down by yet another top-order failure as Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, and Babar Azam didn't provide them the desired start. The bulk of the scoring was done by Shoaib Malik, who has been consistent in the ongoing tournament.
Pakistan let India gun down a total of 238 with ease as Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan scored tons each while stitching a record-breaking opening stand of 210 runs.
Sarfraz Ahmed's men need to step up if they are to beat Bangladesh, who are known for their giant-killing abilities. Notably, Pakistan failed to reach the final of 2016 Asia Cup after a crushing defeat to the Tigers in the round-robin group stage.
Fakhar, Amir struggling for form
Fakhar's form at the top is a big cause for concern but the team management will be hoping their highly-rated opener strikes form in the crunch clash. While captain Sarfraz ended his poor run with a well-made 44 against India, middle-order batsman Asif Ali has been ordinary.
Pakistan have also been let down by some below-par performances of their key pacers — Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali. The former, who has not picked up a wicket in his last six ODIs, may make way for fellow left-arm pacer Usman Khan.
Can in-form Bangladesh bowlers take them to the final?
On the other hand, Bangladesh, who clinched a last-over win over Afghanistan in their previous outing, need to address a few batting concerns as well.
Opener Nazmul Hossain Shanto has been a big letdown. Seasoned campaigner Soumya Sarkar may make his way back into the playing XI in place of the young southpaw.
Bangladesh will be banking on their spin twins — Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan — to deliver the goods for them in Abu Dhabi, which has offered plenty of assistance for the slower bowlers.
Mustafizur Rahman, the hero of their last-over finish against Afghanistan, can pose a big threat to the struggling Pakistani lineup as well.
Pakistan vs Bangladesh: Team News (Predicted playing XIs)
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman,Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Liton Das, Soumya sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, , Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nazmul Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman.
Asia Cup 2018 - TV Guide
- US, Australia: Yupptv
- Afghanistan: Ariana TV
- Bangladesh: Channel 9, BTV
- Pakistan: PTV Sports
- UAE: OSN Sports Cricket
- Sri Lanka: SLRC (Channel Eye)
