Pakistan vs Bangladesh LIVE Score, Asia Cup 2025: PAK aim for big total batting first; Litton-less BAN chase in Dubai

Both teams enter their final Super 4 game on the back of having lost to India – Bangladesh just yesterday, as they were undone by the spin wizardry of Kuldeep Yadav despite seeming competitive, and Pakistan a few days earlier, subjected to an Abhishek-Shubman onslaught that meant a late fightback wasn’t enough. However, both these teams have also managed to beat Sri Lanka, completely upending the momentum the Lions seemed to have after going unbeaten in the group stage. Sri Lanka remain a good team: the wins over them will give both these units plenty of confidence heading into this matchup.

Bangladesh will be licking their wounds just a touch after an Abhishek Sharma pearler and Kuldeep Yadav’s continued excellence subjected them to a 41-run just last night: it is a quick turnaround for the Tigers, one which doesn’t leave them much time to find their footing again and try to mount a recovery. They will be a little worse for wear after a strong bowling effort yesterday, but this is also a theory that cuts both ways: with not much time between matches, they will fancy their chances to remain in any sort of flow with two consecutive days of cricket. Pakistan might be better rested and have had the day off, but they also have to account for playing cricket at a different venue, their own win over Sri Lanka having been played in Abu Dhabi. Admittedly, it is as negligible as travel between two venues can be – just about an hour and a half separates the two Emirati cities by road – but re-adapting to the Ring of Fire in Dubai is a different question.

Bangladesh’s biggest confidence boost to pull off what would be an upset, however, will be their most recent experience against Pakistan: a 2-1 series victory just a couple of months ago, where they showed that they can go toe-to-toe with this unit. They have plenty of talent and the top-order batting to cause a scare to this vulnerable Pakistan team. In the slow, turgid conditions that Dubai has offered, which have only gotten worse as the tournament has progressed, they will also back their bowling unit to keep the clamps on their rivals’ batting, similar to how they managed against Sri Lanka on the weekend.

This is a winner-takes-all match, and that should make for some exciting if nervy cricket. Who can turn up better on the day to book their spot in the final of Asia Cup 2025?

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