Pakistan vs Bangladesh, T20 World Cup 2022 Highlights: PAK beat BAN by 5 wickets, reach semi-finals

You can go over to the live blog we have set up for India's match against Zimbabwe. India are through but as things stand, they will be facing New Zealand in the semi-finals. The Kiwis have been a bogeyman team for India in World Cup tournaments over the last few years and so they would want to avoid that. To do so, they have to get their net run rate (currently +0.730) above that of Pakistan's +1.028. That is a difficult task indeed so let us see who finishes on top of Group 2 at the end of this extraordinary day. Ciao!

“It's a team game. Cricket is a funny game. Appreciate all my team the way they played all matches. Pitch wasn't easy to bat on. Little bit two-paced. Me and Rizwan decided to go long, but unfortunately didn't work out. Haris showed aggression, good to see him play. Looking forward to the semifinals. All of us are excited to play.”

“At the halfway stage we were 70/1. Wanted to get somewhere around 145-150 - would've been a reasonable total on that pitch. Knew it was going to be difficult for the new batters so wanted set batters to carry through to the end which didn't happen. In terms of results, this is the best performance we had in T20 World Cups. Could've done better. But having said that, with the new guys coming in, with the changes, this is the best we could expect. On my own performance - I could've done better. As long as I'm fit and performing, I'd love to play.”

Here he is talking to Danny Morrison. “I have improved. Not easy to come back from injury and bowl 140ks but I'm trying my best. As a team, we are very happy. We've played great. Bowl in the right areas and fast was the plan. (On if they're looking forward to the semis) Now, we are looking forward to the final (laughs),” he said. 

Two runs off the first ball of the 19th and Shan Masood takes his team over the line. Pakistan, extraordinary, they have somehow made it to the semi-final, Bangladesh will finish below the Netherlands which means that the Dutch get automatic qualification for the next T20 World Cup. What a day this has been in Adelaide. It started with us wondering if Pakistan will somehow upset the table and deny India a place in the semi-finals, it has ended with India and Pakistan in the final four, with the order of the top two to be decided by what happens in Melbourne, and South Africa sensationally falling by the wayside. 

Iftikhar skies it and Shanto takes it. Pakistan need just two runs to win here off the last two over and Iftikhar has been a sack of nerves. Masood at the other end, as calm as still water. Masood will be on strike now. 

He won't be hitting those winning runs. In fact, will there be winning runs? Are Bangladesh going to do the impossible here? That these two teams are fighting for a quarter-final spot itself was deemed impossible until this morning so who knows. The ball balloons to point off Haris's bat and he falls. 

Haris c Nasum Ahmed b Shakib Al Hasan 31 (18), Pakistan 121/4 in 16.5 overs

Haris sweeps hard, finds the gap and the ball goes the boundary. He may have seen Pakistan home here.  

All control and class from Shan Masood. Cuts the ball from middle bowled by Shakib in his last over and sends it to the deep cover fence. 

An extraordinary over for all the wrong reasons there for Bangladesh. A skied shot that landed in no-man's land, a tight single, a no ball and a six off a free hit. 

Taskim oversteps the second ball of the 16th over, Haris moves early to the offside for the free hit ball and, Taskin goes wide outside off as well and it ends up coming nicely in the batter's arc. Haris sends the ball sailing into the stands between deep midwicket and deep backward square. Pakistan need 22 to win off 27. That may have been a decisive moment. 

Direct hit at the non-striker's end and Nawaz is gone! Liton Das at short cover and he runs in and throws it at the stumps after Nawaz tries to take a quick single. Replays show that he was centimetres off when the bail was dislodged.  

Nawaz run out (Litton Das) 4 (11), Pakistan 93/3 in 14.5 overs

Haris top edges the pull shot, has Afif Hossain made a brilliant stop at deep square leg? No! He has stepped on the rope with the ball in hand so that will go down as a six. Afif was looking into the sun the whole way but somehow keeps his eye on the ball, jumps to catch the ball and throws it back in but he had stepped on the boundary rope before he did that. 

Finally a proper shot from a Pakistan batter and not something that has gone off some edge of the bat. Overpitched by by Ebadot, Mohammad Haris powers that over cover for four. Pakistan need 48 to win off 41. 

Bangladesh see red and send the ball tumbling to the boundary. Almost everything that can happen off a delivery happens after the second ball of the 12th over. First a big LBW appeal is turned down. Then Shanto throws the ball to the striker's end, where Nawaz was halfway down the pitch. The batter had given up, but the fielder misses and there is no one backing him up. Captain Shakib throws his hat down in disgust as the ball goes down to the mid-on boundary. Then more drama as Shakib goes for review after a long discussion but he has run out of time. He goes on to have a long chat with the umpire about that. It's all happening at the Adelaide Oval!

Well that was a loose ball and Rizwan falls to it. That is how this tournament has gone thus far for Pakistan's opening batters. Rizwan early to an easy cut shot and hits it straight to point. 

Rizwan c Najmul Hossain Shanto b Ebadot Hossain 32 (32), Pakistan 61/2 in 11.2 overs

Attempted sweep shot that flies third man and that is the end of the Pakistan captain's struggle. He ends up with a strike rate of just over 75. That innings may have done more bad than good to this chase. 

Babar Azam c Mustafizur Rahman b Nasum Ahmed 25 (33), Pakistan 57/1 in 10.3 overs

At least one of these two need to get a move on now. It may only be a target of 128 but those runs don't get chased down  automatically. If these two are going to approach this like an ODI innings, 128 in 20 overs is normally a great score for a 50-over match, especially when a team just about crosses 50 in the first 10 overs so they need to get a move on. 

Shakib tosses it up outside off, Babar skips down the track and hits it over the bowler's head for the first boundary in ages for Pakistan. 

Well Babar and Rizwan seem to be either playing the wrong format or are sure of not causing their side any problem with the pace at which they are going. It has been a struggle for the Pakistan captain, he has hardly been able to the middle any shot since hitting those two fours early on. 

Babar and Rizwan are going at a leisurely rate here, which may not exactly be a great idea even though their target is only 128. 

Babar and Rizwan are cruising along. It is Rizwan who has faced more balls and scored more runs, he is on 26 off 21, Babar on 8 off 12.  

Two sweep shots, placed either side of the fielder at deep backward square leg off Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, who must still be seething from that decision that went against him during the Bangladesh innings.

Babar has not often been able to play in full flow in this World Cup and one might say that the tournament has been the poorer for it. Full on off and middle from Taskim, Babar flicks it beautifully through mid-on to the boundary. 

Misfield off the second last ball of that over. If Bangladesh are serious about defending this total and not finishing below the Netherlands on the points table, they need to do better than this. That misfield led to just two runs and not a boundary, fortunately for them.