Pakistan 122 for 2 (Minhas 69*) beat Bangladesh 121 (Subhan 4-20) by eight wickets
Pakistan marched into the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup with a clinical eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in the rain-hit semi-final in Dubai, after a dominant bowling performance led by Abdul Subhan set up a straightforward chase. The victory sets up a final clash against India, who won the first semi-final against Sri Lanka earlier in the day.
Opting to field after winning the toss in the rain-reduced 27-overs-a-side contest, Pakistan made early inroads as Bangladesh slipped to 24 for 2 inside six overs. Captain Azizul Hakim offered brief resistance to steady the innings, but wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals.
Fast bowler Subhan was the standout with the ball, picking up four wickets to dismantle the middle order. From 55 for 2 in the 13th over, Bangladesh lost five wickets for just 38 runs, collapsing to 93 for 7. The lower order struggled to rebuild, and Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 121 in 26.3 overs, with no batter able to convert a start into a big score.
In reply, Pakistan's chase was smooth. After the early loss of opener Hamza Zahoor in the first over, Sameer Minhas anchored the innings with a composed, unbeaten 69, ensuring there were no further hiccups. He struck six fours and two sixes as Pakistan cruised to 122 for 2 with 63 balls to spare.
With this knock, Minhas took his tournament's tally to 299 to be the highest run-getter.
