On Thursday, September 25, Pakistan and Bangladesh will face off in a virtual semi-final for the 2025 Asia Cup. This match is scheduled to take place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The victor of this match will compete against India in the final on Sunday at the same location.
Toss Update
Stand-in captain Jaker Ali won the toss for Bangladesh and opted to bowl first. He feels that the wicket is on the drier side. Ali said that his team has done well while chasing and will want to continue with the same trend on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Salman Ali Agha said that he would have batted first anyway. The all-rounder mentioned that putting Bangladesh under scoreboard pressure will be key.
No Litton Das, Pakistan remain unchanged
Bangladesh’s regular captain Litton Das missed the game against India after injuring himself during a practice session. He failed to recover in time for the important clash against Pakistan. However, Bangladesh made three other changes, with Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, and Tanzid Hasan Tamim making way for Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, and Taskin Ahmed. Meanwhile, Pakistan stuck to the same playing XI which defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets on Tuesday.
What did the captains say?
We would like to bowl first, looks a pretty dry wicket. We have been doing well while bowling first, so we are going with that strategy. As a bowling unit we have been doing well. We have to bat really well in this match. Before the tournament, we had just decided we’d go out and play for the championship, and we’ll carry the same mindset in this match. We have three changes. Saifuddin, Nasum and Tamim are not playing. Nurul, Taskin and Mahedi are in.
Salman Ali Agha (Pakistan captain)
We wanted to bat first, so it’s okay. Looks a good pitch. Scoreboard pressure is the key. We have defended well after scoring 150-plus. Beating SL was always great. We want to play good cricket and execute our plans. It’s always important playing any final. We want to focus on this game, want to win this game. We want to play good cricket. We are playing with the same side.
PAK vs BAN, Super Fours, Match 5 Playing 11s
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (C), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Bangladesh: Saif Hassan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali (WK & C), Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman.
India
