Asia Cup 2025: Pakistan batters struggle after Bangladesh remove top batters

Bangladesh sent Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub packing in the first two overs on Thursday during the must-win Asia Cup clash against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Farhan, who performed comparatively well in the previous matches, was dismissed for four runs. Ayub, who has been sub-par, was dismissed yet again for a duck in the second over.

Later, Rishad Hossain dismissed Fakhar Zaman and Hussain Talat, stopping Pakistan from building a partnership to come out of trouble.

Bangladesh won the toss and chose to field against Pakistan, with both teams vying for a place in the final, where India have already secured their spot.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Abrar Ahmed.

Bangladesh: Saif Hassan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali(w/c), Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mustafizur Rahman.

Head-to-head

Pakistan and Bangladesh have come face-to-face 25 times in T20Is, with the Green Shirts dominating the head-to-head record with 20 victories, compared to the Tigers’ five.

The two recently hosted each other in a three-match each T20I series, with both winning their home assignments.

Pakistan beat Bangladesh 3-0 in Lahore in May-June, while Bangladesh prevailed 2-1 in Mirpur in July.

• Matches: 25
• Pakistan: 20
• Bangladesh: 5

Form guide

The two teams enter the fixture with similar momentum in their favour as they both have two defeats in their last five matches, while one each in the ongoing Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2025.

Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by Sri Lanka in their Super Four campaign opener before suffering 41-run thrashing at the hands of India.

Pakistan, on the other hand, had a forgetful start to their Super Four campaign as they succumbed to a six-wicket defeat against arch-rivals India but bounced back with a five-wicket triumph over defending champions Sri Lanka.

Pakistan: W, L, W, L, W (most recent first)

Bangladesh: L, W, W, L, W