Victorious Pakistan beat Bangladesh

ASIA CUP – THE FINAL MATCH

BANGLADESH VS PAKISTAN

TOSS: BANGLADESH WON THE TOSS AND ELECTED TO FIELD

PAKISTAN – 236/9 IN 50 OVERS

BANGLADESH – 234/8 IN 50 OVERS

Date: 23th March 2012

Victorious Pakistan beat Bangladesh

An exhilarating match comes to an end between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pakistan beating Bangladesh in a nail biting finish by 2 runs and immense effort from Bangladesh went in vain as they couldn’t create history.

The statistical highlights from the Asia Cup final between Bangladesh and Pakistan at Dhaka:

 Tamim Iqbal (60 off 68 balls) became the first batsman to register four fifties in succession at the Asia Cup - his previous three being 64 against Pakistan, 70 against India and 59 against Sri Lanka.  Tamim became the first Bangladeshi batsman to record four fifties in a row in ODIs. His fourth fifty against Pakistan is his 23rd in ODIs.

 Tamim has totalled 253 runs at an average of 63.25 in four matches - the most by a Bangladeshi batsman in the Asia Cup 2012.  Only Virat Kohli (357 at 119.00) has managed more runs than Tamim in the competition. Tamim is the first Bangladeshi batsman to amass 250 runs or more in an Asia Cup competition.

 Shakib's 25th fifty in ODIs is his third against Pakistan. His tally of 25 fifties and 30 innings of fifty-plus (5 centuries + 25 fifties) are records for Bangladesh in ODIs. Shakib's splendid 68 off 72 balls is his highest at the Asia Cup - his third fifty in the tournament.

 Shakib's 68 is the highest by a Bangladeshi batsman in a tournament final, surpassing the 60 by Tamim Iqbal in the same match.  They are the only batsmen to post fifties in a tournament final.  Shakib has got the Player of the series for the fifth time in ODIs for amassing 237 at 59.25 and claiming six wickets at 33.16 runs apiece.

 Younus Khan became the third Pakistani fielder after Imran Khan and Umar Akmal to take three catches in an ODI at the Asia Cup.

 Pakistan's thrilling two-run win over Bangladesh is the narrowest victory-margin at the Asia Cup, surpassing India's four-run win over Sri Lanka at Colombo (RPS) on July 27, 2004. Pakistan have won all eleven ODIs against Bangladesh at the Asia Cup. Overall, they have won 21 and lost 13 out of 35 played at the Asia Cup - success % 61.76 (NR 1).

 Pakistan have won the Asia Cup competition for the second time. They had first won the said competition in 2000 in Bangladesh, beating Sri Lanka by 39 runs at Dhaka. Bangladesh have lost both ODI competition finals they have qualified for - by 2 wickets to Sri Lanka in the Tri-Nation Tournament at Mirpur on January 16, 2009 and by 2 runs to Pakistan at the Asia Cup on March 22, 2012.

 Pakistan (236 for nine) have recorded their second highest total in an Asia Cup Final, behind the 277 for four against Sri Lanka at Dhaka on June 7, 2000. Bangladesh (234/8) have posted their highest total in a tournament final, eclipsing the 152 against Sri lanka at Dhaka on January 16, 2009.

 With 14 catches each, Younus Khan and Mahela Jayawardena jointly share a fielding record for most catches in the Asia Cup.  Aizaz Cheema's excellent figures of 3 for 46 are the second best by a Pakistani bowler in a Asia Cup Final, next only to Abdul Qadir's 3 for 32 against Sri Lanka at Colombo, SSC on April 6, 1986.

 Cheema's aforesaid performance is his best against Bangladesh in ODIs.  Shahid Afridi's tally of 29 Man of the Match awards is the highest by a Pakistani in ODIs, bettering Saeed Anwar's tally of 28 awards.

 Mohammad Hafeez is the leading run-scorer for Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2011-12, aggregating 245 at an average of 61.25 - the highest for Pakistan.  Hafeez's 40 off 87 balls is his highest innings in the tournament finals.  Sarfraz Ahmed (46 not out off 52 balls) has posted his career-best innings in ODIs.

 For the first time in an Asia Cup Final, not even a single fifty has been registered for Pakistan. Saeed Anwar's 82 off 115 balls against Sri Lanka at Dhaka on June 7, 2000 is the highest individual innings for Pakistan in an Asia Cup Final.

Misbah: This means a great deal for us. We were in trouble early on, but the guys performed admirably. The way Umar Akmal and Sarfraz Ahmed  played was heartening. It was a complete team effort. This wicket was slower and run-scoring was a bit difficult. If we got somewhere in between 225-230, we would have a good total to defend. The spinners, Afridi, Hafeez and Ajmal bowled well. Bangladesh gave a tough time to all the teams and they are also the winners.

Slight confusion in the Man of theMatch and Man of the series. Apparently, the wrong cheques were handed out to Shakib and Afridi.

Afridi: The guys have done very well. Bangladesh played some awesome cricket in this competition. I have not bowled or batted well in the last five games and I backed myself to bowl well. Shakib and Nasir Hossain played some good cricket. I tried my level best to perform with the bat. I was focussing on my bowling and I worked hard.

Shahid Afridi is the Man of the Match.

Shakib Al Hasan is the Man of the Series: If we look at the whole tournament, we have been good. The team have worked hard and it has been a terrific team effort. The crowd support was excellent. This has been a great positive for us and we will look to continue the good work. We need to learn from our mistakes. We came close to winning the Asia Cup and we will want to do well.

Rahim: 'Before the tournament, we prepared well. The boys executed the plans well. We played consistently. The pressure got to us. The wicket was slow, but Tamim and Shakib played well. The last over bowled by Shahadat was the crucial point in the match for us. Most of the players put their hands up and contributed. We hope to win more games from this point. We put up a fight in all the games. The wickets of Tamim and Shakib was the turning point.' (Rahim then thanks the crowd in Bengali for their support).

The Judgement Day of the Final

ASIA CUP FINAL (DHAKA)

PAKISTAN VS BANGLADESH

Date: 22^nd March 2012

The Judgement Day of the Final

With an eye on maiden major title, the host Bangladesh will play Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2012 final here at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday. After thrashing World Champion Team India and Sri Lanka, a confident looking Bangladesh have been aiming to outclass Pakistan to become the new Asia Champion.

The hosts are on the verge of creating history and they will not leave any stone unturned to win the final. After losing close opening game against Pakistan, Mushfiqur Rahim’s young team is set to make another upset of the tournament amidst favourable condition. The huge crowd support and batting friendly track of Mirpur, will help Bangladesh to lift the maiden major title. However, they will have to stick to their basics and hold the nerve in critical situations.

The major disadvantage with Bangladesh side is their inconsistence performance after winning good games.  Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Islam are in good touch and they will have to carry their form in the final to help Bangladesh against solid bowling attack of Pakistan.

In the last game against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh bowlers performed brilliantly and bowled out Sri Lanka for 232 runs. The fielding was also top class. On the other hand, after humiliating defeat against arch-rival India, Pakistan will try to restore pride after winning the Asia Cup. Despite of Bangladesh’s good performance against India and Sri Lanka, Pakistan side is looking favourate for the title.

Well, it is expected to be a close game in the Asia Cup final.

India Beat Arch Rivals Pakistan

ASIA CUP – 5^TH MATCH

INDIA VS PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN (329 /6) IN 50 OVERS

INDIA (330/4) IN 47.5 OVERS

INDIA WON BY 6 WICKETS

India Beat Arch Rivals Pakistan

It was just astonishing when to see India Beating Pakistan convincingly. What a glorious match. It is quite ironical now that India will be cheering for a Sri Lanka victory when just a few weeks back in Australia the entire nation wanted Sri Lanka to lose so that India could make the final. The final berth now is open to Bangladesh and India and the tournament promises to continue to be an exciting one.

Kohli (MoM): I still can't believe what happened out there. It was a crunch game for us and to execute the plans in such a tight game is very pleasing. It was a good wicket to bat on so if you have around 130-140 runs to get and then you start picking up a few boundaries it puts on a lot of pressure on the opposition. I am a big fan of Rohit and I love watching him bat. This knock is as special as the one I played in Hobart. Pakistan have a great bowling unit and to be able to chase 330 against them feels extremely good.

Dhoni: To start off I think when they were batting I felt as a skipper I couldn't do much. We used 8 bowlers so that clearly showed that things weren't going our way. Once Gautam got out I thought Sachin and Virat batted very well. Rohit was very good as well and he can turn out to be a very good finisher for us. I think Virat didn't slog he just played some good cricketing shots. Once the target goes beyond 300 it is always very difficult to chase on any sort of wicket. But we had done it recently so we knew we had the potential to do so and that gave us confidence and we picked the right deliveries. We have talent in the batting and the bowling department. It is just about how you handle the pressure. I think they will just learn from such experiences and get better as they play.

Misbah: I think India played very well especially the way they started. Sachin played really well. I think credit goes to their batsmen, they played really well. It is really easy to bat under lights but still 329 is a good score. I would still like to praise India for the way they batted. Virat played one of the best innings that I have ever seen.

Virat Kohli is the fastest rising superstar in world cricket. He proved his mettle yet again and is becoming India's most dependable man in a chase. If his knock at Hobart helped him catch the eyes of cricket lovers all around the world then this one will definitely help him rise in stature. It could still be curtains for India if Bangladesh win against Sri Lanka but for the moment though India are very well placed to make it to the final. Pakistan are already through to the final and the win also means that Sri Lanka have been knocked out.

The man of the moment, Virat Kohli, walks onto the ground and collects a stump as a souvenir. A wide glee is a permanent fixture as he accepts the applause from the sizeable crowd. Kohli's brilliance has overshadowed some poor bowling from the Indian bowlers. Their batsmen made the chase look ridiculously easy. The only time there was any sort of concern was when Gambhir fell off just the second ball. It was Kohli all the way after that. Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma played excellent supporting roles too.  

It is quite sure that partnership is the key role for a team success no matter how the target or a chase is.

A CRUCIAL MATCH INDIA VS PAKISTAN

DATE : 17^TH MARCH 2012

A CRUCIAL MATCH

INDIA VS PAKISTAN

India’s dressing room is wavering with thoughts and plans for tomorrow match. The countdown begins.  Yes absolutely it is the math between India and their arch – rivals Pakistan. India will face  Pakistan in a crucial match where India not only has to win the game but also they need to win convincingly and wait for the Srilankans to defeat Bangladesh as Srilanka has already eliminated out of the competition. A win and a ray of hope will give India a much better chance to enter the finals.

Not only this, India has to win against their rivals Pakistan , and even if Bangladesh win against Srilanka their run rate will get compared according to the records and the deserve team will get through the finals who will face Pakistan as Pakistan has already qualified for the Asia Cup finals.

Pakistan’s comfortable victory over Sri Lanka has not only catapulted them into the final of this year’s Asia Cup but also opened up the possibility of a tempting India-Pakistan final.

India have one match remaining, against Pakistan on March 18. Sri Lanka, who gave a good account of themselves in the recently concluded CB series in Australia, have been hit badly by a spate of injuries to some of their key players. Their hopes of reaching the final have literally disappeared, although an upset by Bangladesh will keep them interested.

A year has passed since their last encounter in the semi-final of the World Cup 2011, and the possibility of these two arch rivals facing each other twice in the space of a few days surely is a mouth-watering prospect for cricket lovers. Here’s hoping India do not disappoint us tomorrow. We would be live streaming of all the remaining matches. On March 16 it would be India vs. Bangladesh and March 18 it would be India vs. Pakistan. 

Background:

MATCHES PLAYED

TEST - 59

ODI – 120

T20 – 2

India won – 9 test, 47 ODIS, 1 T20

Pakistan – 12 test, 69 ODIS, 1 T20

Minnows Bangladesh Beat Indians

ASIA CUP – MATCH 4

INDIA 289/5 IN (50 OVERS)

BANGLADESH 293/5 IN (49.2 OVERS)

DATE: 16^TH MARCH 2012

Minnows Bangladesh Beat Indians

Records, Landmarks and a shocking defeat. We saw it all in the 4th match of the Asia Cup. On one hand the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar played a n awesome innings and on the other Bangladesh had a convincing victory.

A special plaque is being presented to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar for scoring his 100th hundred in international cricket.

Shakib: ' Very happy with the way we played, great team performance. Our batting was very sensible, we upped the ante at the right time. The top-order batted very sensibly and the later order including myself finished it off. I gave the team the belief that we could win this match and it was great that we won in the end. Nasir supported me really well and Mushfiq was superb towards the end. We do not want to depend on others, we believe that we can enter the finals by beating Sri Lanka on the 20th.' He then thanks the crowd in Bangla.

Shakib is the MoM for his all-round show

Mushfiq: It is a huge win for us. We will dedicate this match to our friend, Manjural Islam Rana who died on this day 5 years back. We bowled really well and were backed up by the fielders. The batsmen then played according to the plan. We are thankful for the crowd which kept on egging us. Shakib was really outstanding to help us pull this chase off.

Dhoni: They played better cricket throughout. We knew the wicket will get better in the second half and all their batsmen played really well. There was some dew and we did not execute our plans well. I felt that we were some runs short on this surface. It is not that we do not have a good bowling attack. The youngsters will learn from today and hopefully will do better in future. Bangladesh are one team that can surprise us. They went after the target really well and batted according to the plan. Very happy for Sachin, he deserves all the credit, it is difficult to score 100 hundreds and we are happy for him. We will hope not to make these mistakes in the crunch match against Pakistan. Winning or losing does not matter, but we need to play better cricket.

Stat Alert: Bangladesh register their highest successful chase in an ODI vs a Test playing country

Sachin Tendulkar scored his 100th hundred, but an impartial observer will question the slowness of the Indians in the middle over’s, particularly the batting PP. India have very little time to get over this disaster as they face arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday in what should be a nervy encounter. Stay tuned for the presentations..

India will ponder over the bowling which was shredded to pieces. The pace bowlers looked helpless while the spinners despite managing to keep the batsmen quiet did not get the much needed wickets for the team.

A superb chase aided by some dreadful bowling has sealed a famous win. The dew played its part, but full credit to the way the Bangladeshi batsmen applied themselves. Tamim gave them the perfect start and was well supported by Jahurul. Shakib and Rahim played some stunning cameos while Nasir was a revelation.

A crunch game still remains for India when they face their arch – rivals Pakistan in a crucial match on Sunday. A win for India will have to wait for Srilankans to beat Bangladesh which will automatically keep them alive in the finals. 

The Silence of 100 breaks up for Sachin Tendulkar

The Silence of 100 breaks up for Sachin Tendulkar

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar ended the agonizing wait for his 100^th to in Dhaka against Bangladesh today. Batting first in the fourth match of the Asia Cup at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, India were cruising but all eyes were at Sachin Tendulkar who crossed his nineties confidentially. And he did not look nervous at all!

For over a year, for his last 33 innings, Tendulkar has kept India waiting for that rare milestone. Tendulkar enjoys a quality record against the Bangaldesh attack. Captain M S Dhoni was confident Tendulkar would do well. He had said ahead of the last tie against Sri Lanka on Tuesday: "These are small things, not a worry. He is an asset to the team," Dhoni had said dismissing Tendulkar's impending 100th century milestone has a cause of concern for the men in blue at the start of the Asia Cup.

However, the Tendulkar was dismissed cheaply by the Sri Lankans and looked visibly on the edge.

The 100th Sachin ton came against Bangladesh during the fourth match of the Asia Cup on Friday. Fittingly, or perhaps sensing that history could be made today, a huge crowd gathered at the Shere Bangla National Stadium to witness the master blaster go where no cricketer has gone before.

He took his time as everyone stopped breathing. Especially at 99. First a Suresh Raina single took him to the non-batting end as an over ended. Ten runs came off that over before Sachin got strike. He played two balls for no runs and the over changed again. No one exhaled. So it was Raina on strike again, who took a single on the third ball to give strike to Sachin. The stadium roared. Shakib Al Hasan, now a firm part of history, came in to bowl and Sachin took a single to score his ton of tons.

Then the quant essential Sachin moment. Sachin took off his helmet looked at his bat, then heavenwards.  Of his 100 international tons, Sachin has scored 51 in Tests and 49 ODIs. It took Sachin 188 Tests and 462 ODIs to get to this landmark. Sachin, who is now 38-years-old, made his debut at the age of 16 in 1989.

It has been a classic Sachin innings so far; easy strokes as he has piled on the runs. The veteran batsman took on the Bangladeshi bowling with confidence and reached the milestone using 138 balls and smashing 10 boundaries and a six en route. During the knock he also became the first batsman to hit over 2,000 boundaries in One Day Internationals.

The buzz around Sachin's record ton of tons had begun as early as the World Cup last year, but despite numerous opportunities, he was unable to reach the three-figure mark. Sachin opted to play the Asia Cup after a less than average outing in the CB Series in Australia. His last international century came during the World Cup against South Africa on March 12, 2011.  It took him 34 innings, include thirteen ODI innings, to get to his most awaited century.

Mirpur, Bangladesh got lucky that Sachin chose to play his 462nd ODI here. On Friday, he made use of both singles and the occasional boundary to pulverise the Bangladesh bowlers. The bowling was ordinary and the ground fielding was equally ordinary as the home crowd battled with mixed emotions - watching a master at work with his willow and looking at the host team suffering on the field. Shahadat Hossain was dispatched to mid-wicket fence while Mahmudullah found out bowling short to a legend in the game, even if close on the heels of a milestone, will not be spared.

Tendulkar opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir (11) and despite losing him early, the veteran batsman negotiated the attack with characteristic ease. This after Mushfiqur Rahim asked the opposition to bat again after winning his second toss of the tournament on a dry-looking pitch that was expected to aid spin.

The Master Blaster finally achieved his ton with an incredible innings and of Course he will have standing ovation for a blistering ton.

Pakistan Beat Srilanka Convincingly

ASIA CUP MATCH – 3

PAKISTAN S SRILANKA

SRILANKA – 188/10 (45.4 OVERS)

PAKISTAN – 189/4 IN (39.5 OVERS)

Pakistan Beat Srilanka Convincingly

Another amazing game of cricket where Pakistan beat Srilanka with a convincing win and getting some good points for the finals. Srilanka on the other hand got some serious business to do and there is a very slight chance for them to make it in the finals. An another exciting clash of Asia Cup Not so exciting owing to Sri Lanka's flat performance in the field but the Pakistanis really turned on the heat with the way they played. Pakistan seems to be in a good form playing some serious cricket these days.

Aizaz Cheema (MoM): I was under a lot of pressure but the captain came to me and asked me not to get defensive and to continue to attack. With the newer ball I thought it will come onto the bat even if I bowl the slower deliveries so I kept that for the end. I am very happy with my performance today because the way the opposition started today I thought it wouldn't be my day. But Afridi and the captain came to me and asked me to bowl with aggression and bowl some bouncers so that really helped me.

Misbah: Once we lost three wickets they were in the hunt but I think Umar and I batted really well today. I just kept telling him to play normal shots, it is just a matter of batting 50 overs and we knew if we kept batting the runs would come. When Cheema was hit for a lot of fours in the first few overs I told him that his main weapon is aggression and he must use that. You can't look to just restrict on these sort of wickets. It gives us a real edge to have bowlers like Ajmal in our side. It was important for me to just come and play a good knock to get my confidence back after the England series. We have to improve our performance despite the win. We need to improve our batting if we can do that then our batting will always keep us in the hunt.

Mahela: I think our fans have always supported us everywhere. I think where we went wrong was with our batting. We got a good start but lost wickets too frequently and exposed our lower middle order too early. I was timing the ball well, I guess when you start hitting the ball that well you start taking a few risks. I think thats what happened and a lot was left to be done for Kumar. It is disappointing, you always go into any tournament coming in to win and you want to get into the final. So it is disappointing when you don't. We looked a little flat today, we just have to keep improving and look to get back for the remaining games well. .The batting order can go either way. The day the seniors retire there will be no one to bat in the middle order if I continue to stick to that position. These youngsters have batted well so far, they have made a few mistakes but one can only learn from mistakes. Difficult to get into an argument about the batting order just after one match.

Pakistan has outclassed their opponents today. Mahela who has impressed as a captain so far looked absolutely clueless today. Sri Lanka failed to put up a challenging total on the board and despite making a few early inroads, the total was just not enough. Umar Akmal and Misbah steadied the ship after those quick losses and really took their side through till the end.

Akmal perished in the process of trying to secure the bonus point but Hammad Azam came in and struck the 5th ball that he faced to the fence to secure that extra point. Sri Lanka have had a dismal Asia Cup so far and now they are more or less out of the tournament. There is a mathematical chance for them to go through to the final but for that they need a few results to go in their favour. Pakistan are now almost through to the final.

India takes Revenge

ASIA CUP 2012 – MATCH (2)

INDIA VS SRILANKA

INDIA 304/3 IN (50 Overs)

SRILANKA 254 ALLOUT IN(45.1 OVERS)

Date: 13/03/2012

India takes Revenge

After a huge disaster in CB Series against Srilanka, India bounced back on the Lankans with a 50 run margin by defeating Sri Lankans. Great start this for India. Although it is very early in the tournament, India find themselves at the top of the table.

Virat (MoM): I am very happy with this performance. Considering that we came from different conditions in Australia it is very satisfying. I was just trying to hit the ball well and I am happy that it was happening. Me and Gautam have got big partnerships between us and we understand how we play. We run well between the wickets and we don't really need to tell each other what to do. It is very satisfying when the wicket is slow and you have to adjust and control the rush of blood and not hit that boundary but it is nice when it results in your favour. The vice captaincy is a great honour for me, especially at the age of 23 I didn't really expect it but I will try and make the most of it.

Dhoni: It was difficult when Mahela was batting. The wicket changed a bit and the ball was coming on to the bat. The batsmen were scoring well, not to forget Praveen had an off day and they went after Jadeja. It was difficult to manage and that's why I had to get on my part time bowlers. I think Irfan supported the attack well and Praveen came back well. I think Gautam and Virat batted very sensibly and they ran well between the wickets. There weren't too many boundaries and it was a difficult one but they batted well and gave us a good start. When you lose a toss here and have to defend it becomes difficult because the ball comes onto the bat better later in the day. Maybe when the tournament progresses it might become slower and it might not be so easy to bat. Sri Lanka didn't have a few of their key players but still I am happy with our effort.

Mahela: I think when you are chasing something like that, the guys who make starts have to carry on. I think I played a bad shot to get out. We needed to keep our heads together and chase the score down but we couldn't really do that. I think India set up their innings nicely with Virat and Gambhir at the top. It is tough to bowl to people like Dhoni and Suresh since they are big hitters. We made a lot of mistakes today, with the bat, in the field and with the ball. We can still take a lot of positives from this games. I think the new guys bowled really well. But we can't keep making mistakes like this because we might go out of the tournament then. I enjoy batting at the top of the order because I can play my shots, it is easy to bat with Dilshan and Kumar. But then again I think I played a bad shot to get out.

Irfan Pathan was India's best bet with the ball as far as figures are concerned. He took four wickets and went for just 32 runs in his eight overs. India ended up bowling far better after the batting powerplay and it was that phase that really earned them the victory. Mahela and Sangakkara will be gutted though that they couldn't see their side across the finish line despite getting a very good start.

The Asia Cup is turning out to be a tournament filled with lots of twists. Sri Lanka looked to be cruising at the beginning courtesy a blistering knock by Mahela. Sangakkara joined in after Dilshan's early departure and the duo really got after the Indian bowlers and steadied the ship.

For most parts of the game Sri Lanka looked like they were on course to clinching the victory but it was the batting powerplay that turned this game around. Sri Lanka tried to be a little too aggressive during the batting powerplay. Ashwin bowled a decisive over, in fact the first one in the powerplay and he did extremely well to pick up two quick wickets including that of Sangakkara. From there on Sri Lanka began their slide and India clawed their way back into the match.

Pakistan Beat Bangladesh in Opening Ceremony

                                                              ASIA CUP 2012

HOST: BANGLADESH

TEAMS: INDIA, SRILANKA, BANGLADESH, PAKISTAN

MATCH 1: PAKISTAN VS BANGLADESH

Pakistan 262/8 in 50 overs

Bangladesh 241/10 in 48.1 overs

Date: 11^th March 2012

Pakistan Beat Bangladesh in Opening Ceremony

What a match! A sad end for the home team and a perfect start for Pakistan. Mohammad Hafeez and Umar Gul put in impressive all-round performances as Pakistan posted an exciting 21-run victory over Bangladesh in the opening match of the Asia Cup tournament on Sunday. Opener Hafeez top-scored with a solid 89 and then grabbed two wickets, while Gul made a crucial 39 and took three wickets before Pakistan bowled Bangladesh out for 241 after posting 262-8 in the day-night match in Dhaka.

The duo upstaged Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who sustained his team's hopes with a 66-ball 64 before being the last man out. Hafeez was named man of the match. The hosts were struggling at 135-5, but Shakib and Nasir Hossain (47) gave some anxious moments to Pakistan with an 89-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Bangladeshi opener Tamim Iqbal, initially dropped from the squad by the country's cricket chief before being added as a 15th member, scored 64 with the help of one six and six fours. But Hafeez bowled well-set Tamim and trapped Mohammad Mahmudullah leg-before with his next delivery before Gul dismissed Nasir and Shakib to complete Pakistan's victory.

Pakistan were earlier well placed at 160-1 following a 135-run stand for the opening wicket between Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed (54) before they lost six wickets for just 38 runs. Paceman Shahadat Hossain (3-53) and left-arm spinner Shakib (2-41) did the damage, but Gul added 53 vital runs for the eighth wicket with Sarfraz Ahmed (19 not out).

Pakistan made a steady start after being put in to bat as Hafeez and Jamshed batted confidently against both pace and spin, playing some handsome shots during their 27.5-over stand. Jamshed, who played his last one-dayer in August 2009, hit one six and five fours in his 64-ball knock before he was run out soon after completing his fifth half-century.

Shahadat started Pakistan's slide when he dismissed Younis Khan (12), Hafeez and Asad Shafiq (four) in successive overs. Hafeez looked set to reach his fourth one-day hundred before he was caught by Shafiul Islam at square-leg while attempting to pull Shahadat. He hit seven fours in his 126-ball knock.

Shakib removed Umar Akmal (21) and then held a return catch in the same over to account for Shahid Afridi after fumbling twice before finally holding the ball as it ricocheted off non-striker Misbah-ul-Haq. Afridi, who was just one short of 7,000 one-day runs, failed to open his account.

Defending champions India and Sri Lanka are the other teams in the fray. Each side will play the other once in the round-robin league, with the top two advancing to the final on March 22.