Bangladesh chase history in 1st Asia Cup final

Mushfiqur Rahim is confident he can lead Bangladesh to an historic victory in its first Asia Cup final against Pakistan at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday. Bangladesh has never won a major title, and the expectations of home fans have ballooned in the past week as the team beat World Cup finalists India and Sri Lanka, batting second. India has been the most successful Asia Cup team with five titles, while Sri Lanka had never missed the final. “It’s not that we upset the big guns, rather it was a well-planned strategy and we executed that well,” Rahim said on Wednesday. “So far, we have gained everything we wanted. We are now so close and do not want to lose the chance.” The captain said his team was keen to prove Bangladesh could maintain its high standard. “We played such a way that every match was a do-or-die match for us,” Rahim said. “We’ll take this final match the same way. As a team, we’ve been improving. So the victory in the final would be crucial to show our improvement toward the rest of the world.” Pakistan won their round-robin match by 21 runs, and Rahim acknowledged Pakistan was the favorite in the final. But he was reluctant to concede anything else. “We believe no side is unbeatable. It is all about to put up good cricket and execute the plan well,” he said. Senior Pakistan batsman Younis Khan paid respect to Bangladesh for its gutsy performances and expected a hard-fought final. “You see the match against us, then against India, it was wonderful to chase a big score,” Khan said. “Their teamwork is tremendous; it is certainly a great strength that they are chasing well. So I think it will be a tough match.” He praised Bangladesh’s consistency. “They came close to a victory against us by chasing a respectable total, then chased down India’s mammoth total. Even in a rain-affected match, they eased past Sri Lanka as if they like to chase any total,” Khan said. “It will be very tough to beat Bangladesh; the way they have been playing is amazing.” Khan said if Pakistan wins the toss it will likely send Bangladesh in to bat first in the final. Pakistan won its only Asia Cup the last time it reached the final, in 2000.