OTD 2012 Asia Cup finals : Pakistan win Asia Cup for the second time

The 2012 Asia Cup was iconic in several aspects. From Sachin Tendulkar’s century of centuries to Bangladesh punching above their weights to qualify for the finals, the tournament in itself was nothing short of absolute cinema. Bangladesh had got the better of India and Sri Lanka on their way to the finals. Pulling off such results, Bangladesh made a statement that they were no more the ‘minnows’ in Asian cricket. 

21st March 2012 witnessed one of the best Asia Cup finals in the history of the event. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first in Dhaka’s Shere e Bangla national stadium. The away side got off to a shaky start as they lost Nasir Jamshed and Younus Khan in the first powerplay. Two early wickets halted the run rate of Pakistani batters as they crawled at a mere 4 runs and over. 

None of the Pakistani batters got going despite getting decent starts. Mohammad Hafeez was the pick of the batters. He scored 40 runs off 87 balls. Umar Akmal and Hammad Azam weaved the only 50-run partnership of the innings. However, both departed for 30 runs each. It was Shahid Afridi’s quickfire 32 off 22 balls and Sarfaraz Ahmed’s resilient 46 runs that helped Pakistan reach a decent target of 236 runs at the loss of 9 wickets. Shakib Al-Hassan, Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdur Rajjak scalped two wickets each to restrict the visitors to an achievable score on a sluggish wicket.

Bangladesh were off to a promising start in their chase. The openers, Tamim Iqbal and Nazimuddin made a half-century stand before the latter departed at the score of 68 in the fourteenth over. The wicket acted as a trigger as Bangladesh lost two more wickets in quick succession. However, the promising all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan steadied the ship as he weaved useful partnerships with Rahim and Mahmudullah before losing his wicket in the 44th over to Aizaz Cheema. Mahmudullah and Mashrafe Mortaza kept Bangladesh in the match till the penultimate over.

In the final over of the match, Bangladesh required nine runs from the last six deliveries. Aizaz Cheema took on the responsibility of bowling the final over. The first 2 balls yielded just 2 runs. Cheema effectively deceived Mahmudullah with a slower delivery on the third ball. However, he conceded three runs on his fourth delivery.

Cheema went on to scalp Abdur Rajjak in the fifth delivery as he bamboozled his stumps out of the ground. The hosts were just a hit away from securing their first Asia Cup title. With 4 runs required off the last ball, Bangladsh’s last batter took the crease. Cheema delivered an accurate Yorker on the last ball to deny the Bangladeshi batter any chance of finding the fence. Pakistan won the finals by 2 runs in an absolute edge of the seat thriller.

Disclaimer: This Exclusive News is based on the author’s understanding, analysis, and instinct. As you review this information, consider the points mentioned and form your own conclusions.

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