Samad and Nawaz steer Pakistan past Bangladesh into first Asian Games men's final

Pakistan's men reached their first Asian Games cricket final on 1 October 2026, beating Bangladesh by six wickets in a rain-affected semi-final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan. Rain delayed the start and reduced the match to 13 overs per side, and Pakistan chased down a target of 112 after a wobble in the middle of their innings.

The victory was also the first in charge for Sahibzada Farhan, who was appointed to lead the side at the Games.

Spinners rein in Bangladesh

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl. Bangladesh were given impetus by Towhid Hridoy, who struck 42 from 25 balls, while Saif Hassan added 19. But Pakistan's bowlers kept taking wickets at important moments.

Sufiyan Muqeem was the pick of the attack with three for 26 from his three overs. Arafat Minhas removed openers Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Parvez Hossain Emon cheaply to finish with two wickets, and Saim Ayub dismissed Litton Das. Bangladesh closed on 111 for seven.

A wobble, then a rescue

Pakistan's reply began badly when Farhan fell for a single in the opening over. Saim Ayub (21 from 12 balls) and Maaz Sadaqat (15 from seven) attacked, and wicketkeeper Usman Khan added 15, but the side had slipped to 53 for four by the end of the seventh over.

Abdul Samad and Hasan Nawaz then took the game away from Bangladesh. Samad finished unbeaten on 30 from 15 balls, with his biggest blow coming in the 10th over when he took 23 runs off Mustafizur Rahman. Nawaz stayed with him until the end on 27 not out, and the pair completed the chase without further loss.

The road to Nisshin

Pakistan's progress to the semi-finals had come without a ball being bowled in the quarter-final, which was washed out against Hong Kong. Bangladesh also advanced after rain ended their quarter-final against Malaysia, so this semi-final was the first proper test of the knockout stage for both sides.

The win guaranteed Pakistan a medal in the men's competition for the first time since they took bronze at Guangzhou in 2010. At the previous Games in Hangzhou, Pakistan narrowly missed out after losing the bronze-medal match to Bangladesh, which made this result a satisfying turnaround.

Silver at the finish

Pakistan went on to contest the gold-medal match on 3 October 2026 and finished with the silver medal. The campaign proved significant beyond the podium: within days, the Pakistan Cricket Board named Farhan as the national side's T20I captain for the home series against Sri Lanka, and several of the players who starred in the semi-final, including Samad, Nawaz, Muqeem and Minhas, were retained for that series.