Asia Cup: Bangladesh elect to bat in virtual semi-final clash against Pakistan

Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat against Pakistan in what is said to be a virtual semi-final clash on Wednesday.

The winning team will set up a date with India, who reached the finals after thumping victories against Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Speaking after the toss, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza said, "We would like to bat first. Looks a good wicket to bat on. Last match we lost many wickets in the middle overs but number 6 and 7 batted so well."

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"Hopefully, we get a good start. We have been struggling with the top order but hopefully, we'll do well today. Sarkar comes back into the side. We have quite a few changes. Shanto is not playing, Rubel is back into the side."

"Big loss is that Shakib is not playing as he fractured his finger, hence Mominul comes in. Fans have been supporting us right throughout the tournament," he added.

Pakistan, on the other hand, will not leave a single stone unturned to win the game against Afghanistan and lock horns with India for the third time in finals.

Talking about their strategy for today, Pakistani skipper Sarfraz Ahmed said, "The conditions get different later in the night. But if you have wickets in hand, you can chase whatever the target is. I have asked the batsmen to play positive cricket, hopefully we bat well today."

"They have a good batting line-up. We'll try to get them out early and chase it down later. Junaid Khan comes in for Mohammad Amir," he added.

Teams:
Pakistan (Playing XI): Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Afridi

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mominul Haque, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman