Afridi, Rauf and Ayub set up a Pakistan vs India Asia Cup final

It has taken more than 40 years but we finally have it: an India-Pakistan Asia Cup final. Pakistan scrapped their way into the title clash after defending 135 against Bangladesh in Dubai.

After Shaheen Shah Afridi struck twice in three powerplay overs, Pakistan's spinners tightened the screws, finding sharp turn and grip. After bagging his fourth duck in six innings in the Asia Cup, Saim Ayub produced a double-strike and ensured Bangladesh's batting effort spiralled out of control.

It was one of those bizarre games where the team that hit more sixes ended up losing. Pakistan had managed just five sixes and Bangladesh had matched that tally by the tenth over of the chase. They eventually finished with seven sixes but as they searched for more on a pitch that perhaps wasn't conducive to that style, they kept holing out.

Pakistan's batters had suffered a similar meltdown earlier in the day, but Mohammad Haris and Mohammad Nawaz did enough to drag them to 135 on a used surface, a total that at the end of the day was enough by 11 runs.

Taskin Ahmed, rested for Wednesday's game against India, hit the ground running by dismissing the in-form Sahibzada Farhan for 4. He became the third Bangladesh player after Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman, to 100 T20I wickets.

In the next over, offspinner Mahedi Hasan had Ayub flapping a catch to mid-on for a three-ball duck - his fourth duck in six innings in the Asia Cup and ninth in 45 T20I innings. Only Umar Akmal (ten in 79 T20I innings) has bagged more for Pakistan.

Fakhar Zaman was also going nowhere, managing only 12 off 18 balls in a powerplay that saw Pakistan score only 27. Only Hong Kong had scored fewer runs in a powerplay in this Asia Cup.

After taking the catches of Farhan and Ayub, wristspinner Rishad Hossain dismissed Fakhar (13 off 20 balls) and Hussain Talat (3 off 7) in successive overs. When Mustafizur had captain Salman Agha inside-edging behind with his trademark off-cutter, Pakistan were 49 for 5 in the 11th over.

The first six of Pakistan's innings came in the 13th over when Afridi launched Tanzim Hasan Sakib into the top tier over midwicket. In the next over, he hit Taskin for another six before miscuing a full-toss to the keeper. After being dropped on 1 and 3, Afridi got to 19 off 13 balls.

Nawaz could have been dismissed on 0 had Parvez Hossain not dropped a regulation catch. He went on to make 25 off 15 balls. Haris also played his part, taking on both Rishad and Mustafizur during his 31 off 23 balls. Pakistan crashed 80 runs in their last eight overs.

While Afridi was on the money with the new ball at one end - his powerplay figures read 3-0-11-2, including a customary first-over strike - Bangladesh went after the bowlers at the other end. When Faheem Ashraf erred too full, Saif Hassan pounded him over mid-on for six. In the next over, he picked Haris Rauf away for a six and a four. In his next over, however, Rauf bounced back to draw a leading edge from Saif, which was grasped by Ayub at point.

Nurul Hasan then started with a first-ball six, though off a top edge, but Bangladesh couldn't sustain their hitting and kept finding the boundary riders. Shamim Hossain, who top-scored for Bangladesh with 30 off 25 balls, was their only batter to pass 20.

Bangladesh's slim hopes faded away when Afridi returned with the old ball and had Shamim caught by Talat, who was not needed with the ball on the day. Bangladesh were missing their regular captain and key batter Litton Das who was on the bench for a second successive game with a side strain. Jaker Ali, the stand-in captain, was among a long list of batters who holed out while attempting to clear the boundary.

Pakistan had an injury scare when Rauf collapsed in his follow-through in the 18th over, but he continued to bowl, finishing off his spell and locked in an India-Pakistan final on Sunday.