 "Asia Cup 2018: Rusty Pakistan takes on Bangladesh for a spot in the final")
Reeling from back-to-back losses at the hands of arch-rival India, Pakistan will have their task cut out when they lock horns with a tricky Bangladesh in a virtual semifinal in the last match of Super Four of the Asia Cup 2018 today. One of the two teams will be heading home after their final Super Four game at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi and given the backlash they received after the reverses against India, former world and Asian champions Pakistan will be eager to raise their game. In 2016 Asia Cup which played in a T20 format given T20 World Cup later in the year, Bangladesh defeated Pakistan to play the summit clash with India. So, Pakistan must be aware of the situation and capabilities of Bengal tigers who excelled in the cricket field during crunch situations.
Here are the playing 11 of both the teams:
Bangladesh playing 11: Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain/Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Namzul Islam
Pakistan playing 11: Imam Ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman/Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir/Usman Shinwari, Shaheen Afridi
Asia Cup 2018 Pakistan vs Bangladesh match live streaming details
Pakistan vs Bangladesh last Super Fours stage match will be broadcast on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD. It will be available for live streaming on Hotstar app. Tatasky subscribers can also watch the match on Tatasky mobile app.
Watch: Here's what Shoaib Malik has to say ahead of virtual semifinal clash
Pakitan Team news
While their batting has shown signs of improvement days after being bowled out for 160-odd runs, more needs to be done if they are to make the title clash, where India await.
The struggling batsmen would do well to take a cue from the seasoned Shoaib Malik, who has been one of the few impressive performers from the side in the continental tournament, which they have won two times.
However, Pakistan's biggest concern is the poor form of pace spearhead Mohammed Amir, who seems to have lost sting and is struggling to take wickets, which is his primary job, and which was reiterated by his skipper Sarfraz Ahmed on the eve of the group game against India.
Sarfraz's words did not have the desired effect as Amir and Co failed to deliver.
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Pakistan will hope the team gets the job done against Bangladesh and regain confidence.
What Mickey Arthur said after 9-wicket loss against India
After their nine-wicket humiliation at the hands of India, coach Mickey Arthur said Pakistan have a huge task at hand.
"It's a semi-final now. We have to find a way to dig ourselves out of the hole we are in at the moment. We will come back from this. We are at our best in must-win matches. That's when we come to the party," he said. "I believe in our players. I think they are a fantastic bunch of players," he added.
Bangladesh Team news
Bangladesh managed to scrape past a spirited Afghanistan in a last-over finish to keep their hopes alive, and having produced decent performances, save the loss against India, they will fancy their chances against Pakistan. Bangladesh will look to make changes in their playing 11 bringing in Soumya Sarkar as both Liton Das [0, 6, 7 and 41] and Nazmul Hossain [7, 7 and 6] have struggled at the top of the order.
Here are the squad of both the teams:
Pakistan Asia Cup squad: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Sarfraz Ahmed(captain), Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir.
Bangladesh Asia Cup squad: Masrafe Bin Mortaza (captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Mithun, Litton Kumar Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nazmul Islam Apu, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Haider Rony.
Match starts 5pm (IST).