India and Bangladesh will lock horns in the first semifinal at the ongoing Asian Games in cricket. A win here for either of the teams will confirm at least a silver medal. While India defeated a spirited Nepal side defending 202 runs after opting to bat first, Bangladesh were on the verge of getting knocked out before stealing the game from Malaysia.
Defending 116 runs, they seemed to be down and out in the penultimate over itself with Malaysia needing six runs off 11 balls. But Rishad Hossain bowled a terrific over and then Afif Hossain defended five runs stunningly to seal a two-run victory. The winner of this match will lock horns against the winner of the second semifinal between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Pitch Report
The surface at Pingfeng Campus cricket field has slowed down considerably with a lot of matches already played. The scores have gone down with every passing match and hence, the team winning the toss is batting first more often than not. An average score of 131 batting first is also a testament to the slow pitch on offer here.
Pingfend Campus Cricket Field, Hangzhou – Numbers Games
Matches Played – 29
Matches won batting first – 17
Matches won bowling first – 11
Average 1st inns score – 131
Average 2nd inns score – 77
Highest total recorded – 314/3 (20 ov) by NEP vs MGL
Highest score chased – 133/5 (18.5 ov) by HK vs JPN
Squads
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Mukesh Kumar, Prabhsimran Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Deep
Bangladesh Squad: Parvez Hossain Emon, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Saif Hassan(c), Afif Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Jaker Ali(w), Rishad Hossain, Sumon Khan, Rakibul Hasan, Ripon Mondol, Mosaddek Hossain, Yasir Ali, Tanvir Islam, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Tanzim Hasan Sakib