Daniyal stars as Shaheens clinch Rising Stars title in Super Over

In a dramatic low-scoring thriller that went into a Super Over, fast bowler Ahmed Daniyal kept his composure as Pakistan Shaheens defeated Bangladesh A to lift the Asia Cup Rising Stars title in Doha, Qatar.

Daniyal, defending six runs in the 20th, bowled a nerveless over to take the game into a Super Over. He then removed Abdul Gaffar Saqlain with his second ball in the Super Over and then clean bowled Jishan Alam to restrict Bangladesh A to only 6. Saad Masood and Maaz Sadaqat took just four balls to chase down the target and spark celebrations in the Shaheens camp.

This, however, was a game which ebbed and flowed all the way through. Sent into bat, Shaheens lost three wickets in the powerplay, and then continued to slip to eventually be bowled out for 125. Bangladesh A started the chase rapidly, but the spin quartet of Arafat Minhas, Saad Masood, Maaz Sadaqat and Sufiyan Muqeem spun a web around the batters to derail the chase.

At 53 for 7 in the 13th over, the game looked as good as done, but Rakibul Hasan (24), Saqlain (16) and Ripon Mondol (11) - Bangladesh A's last three - staged an unlikely comeback. Mondol, however, wasn't able to repeat his semi-final Super Over heroics in the final as Bangladesh A went down.

Bangladesh A couldn't have hoped for a better start to the game with Shaheens losing Yasir Khan first ball of the match, courtesy a stunning under-arm direct hit from Saqlain running in from mid-on. Mohammad Faiq was cleaned up by SM Meherob, while wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori was bowled by Rakibul as Shaheens slipped to 25 for 3 in the fifth over.

Maaz Sadaqat struck two fours and a six in his 23, but when he fell in the seventh over, Shaheens lost their way. Captain Irfan Khan scored a sedate 9 off 22 balls, with only Masood and Minhas providing anything of note on the Shaheens' scorecard. Mondol bowled a terrific 19th over, picking up three wickets, and the innings ended with a run out as Shaheens were bowled out in 20 overs.

In reply, Bangladesh A opener Habibur Rahman Sohan was quick off the blocks, tonking Ubaid Shah for a six over deep midwicket. While Alam was trapped in front of the stumps by Minhas, Habibur kept going as he smashed Masood for a six and two fours in the fourth over. But the bowler had the last laugh when Habibur pulled a long hop straight to square leg, and the Bangladesh A middle order caved in.

Minhas trapped Mahidul Islam Ankon lbw before Muqeem's left-arm wristpin bamboozled Bangladesh A. He got Akbar Ali to chop one back onto his stumps, and then struck twice in two balls, cleaning up Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby and Mrittunjoy Chowdhury with identical wrong'uns. Rakibul went after Masood but Bangladesh A kept losing wickets, with the required rate rising.

Then came another twist with Bangladesh A requiring 27 off the last two overs and only Saqlain and Mondol, the last two batters at the crease. Shahid Aziz, bowling the 19th over, missed his yorker three times and the batters smashed him for three sixes to flip the script. Daniyal, however, bowled a terrific last over, mixing his lengths to rescue Shaheens.