Abdul Samad’s blistering 30 and Ishan Kishan’s 80 help Pakistan and India seal contrasting semi-final wins
Pakistan’s Abdul Samad hit a six and four fours off one over from Mustafizur Rahman. Photo: AFP
Pakistan and India set up a blockbuster Asian Games men’s cricket final on Thursday after contrasting semi-final victories over Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Abdul Samad smashed an unbeaten 30 off 15 balls as Pakistan recovered from early trouble to beat Bangladesh by six wickets and reach the Asian Games men’s cricket final on Thursday.
Chasing 112 in a 13-over semi-final at Korogi Sports Park, Pakistan slipped to 53-4 before Samad and Hasan Nawaz combined for an unbeaten 59-run fifth-wicket stand.
Hasan finished 27 not out off 22 balls, with two fours and two sixes, as Pakistan reached 112-4 in 11.3 overs.
Samad provided the decisive burst in the 10th over, taking 22 runs from five deliveries against Mustafizur Rahman.
After Hasan took a single from the first ball, Samad launched Mustafizur over long-on for six before hitting four successive boundaries.
The 23-run over reduced Pakistan’s target to 13 from 18 balls and effectively settled the contest.
Earlier, Pakistan lost captain Sahibzada Farhan for one before Maaz Sadaqat, Saim Ayub and Usman Khan also departed.
Saim made 21 off 12 balls, including two sixes, while debutant Maaz contributed 15 off seven.
Bangladesh, asked to bat first, posted 111-7 from their 13 overs, with Towhid Hridoy top-scoring with 42 off 25 balls, including four sixes and two fours.
Saif Hassan added 19, but Pakistan’s spinners kept Bangladesh from building sustained momentum.
Sufyan Moqim took 3-26 and Arafat Minhas claimed 2-23, while Saim returned figures of 1-3 from his two overs.
Defending champions India then booked their place in the final with a 124-run thrashing of Sri Lanka.
India posted 169-7 after Ishan Kishan struck an unbeaten 80 off 46 balls and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi added 38 from 21.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 45 in 9.5 overs, with Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Abhishek Sharma taking two wickets apiece.
Pakistan and India will meet for the gold medal on Saturday at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.
The men’s cricket quarter-finals had been washed out by rain, with Pakistan and India advancing based on their higher rankings.
Scores in brief:
Pakistan 112-4 (11.3 ov) beat Bangladesh 111-7 by six wickets.
India 169-7 (20 ov) beat Sri Lanka 45 all out by 124 runs