Bangladesh was agonizingly close to securing their spot in the Asia Cup final against India on Sunday, September 28th. However, their loss means the grand finale at the Dubai International Stadium will instead feature a highly anticipated clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan – a first in Asia Cup history.
A significant turning point came when Pakistan was struggling at 51 for 5. Nurul Hasan and Mahedi Hasan both dropped Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 12th over when he was on just one run. Afridi capitalized on these reprieves, smashing two sixes in a quickfire 13-ball 19, injecting much-needed momentum into Pakistan’s innings. Later, Parvez Hossain Emon also dropped Mohammad Nawaz when he was yet to score, allowing Nawaz to contribute a valuable 25 runs off 15 balls, including two sixes and a four.
India faces similar fielding concerns ahead of the final
Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons openly attributed their 11-run defeat and failure to chase down the 136-run target to these dropped catches and poor batting decisions. He emphasized, “When we dropped Shaheen and Nawaz, that’s where the game changed. Before that, we were in control.” Simmons dismissed the idea that stadium lights played a role in the missed catches, suggesting they were simply fielding errors.
As the final approaches, India finds itself under scrutiny for its own inconsistent fielding. The Suryakumar Yadav-led squad has dropped a staggering 12 catches across five matches, resulting in a dismal catching efficiency of just 67.5%. Only Hong Kong has a worse record in the tournament.
When questioned about India’s fielding woes, spinner Varun Chakravarthy conceded that excuses shouldn’t be made at this level, but did mention the stadium’s “rings of fire” could cause a “little bit of disturbance” in a fielder’s vision. “As a team, we have to definitely start catching those because we will be qualifying for the finals. We should be taking these catches,” Chakravarthy stated after India’s 41-run victory against Bangladesh.
Following India’s win over Pakistan, Captain Suryakumar Yadav humorously addressed the team’s fielding issues, quipping, “The fielding coach T Dilip has emailed the boys with butter on their fingers to appear before him.” This lighthearted comment highlights the team’s awareness of the problem and the need for immediate improvement before the high-stakes final.