Pakistan Shaheens beat Bangladesh A in the Super Over to win the Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025 cricket tournament at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday.

After opting to field first, the Bangladesh cricket team restricted Pakistan to 125 all out in 20 overs. Ripon Mondol led the attack with 3/25 from his four overs, while Rakibul Hasan impressed with figures of 2/16. Saad Masood top-scored for the Shaheens, holding the innings together by scoring 38 off 26 balls.

In reply, spirited Bangladesh A were nearly out at 96/9 in the 18th over before No. 10 batter Abdul Gaffar Saqlain (16 off 12) and No. 11 Ripon Mondol (11 off 9) rescued them with an unbeaten 29-run partnership.

Ahmed Daniyal and Sufiyan Muqeem starred for the Pakistan cricket team with the ball. Ahmed Daniyal bowled four overs and returned with figures of 2/11 before shining in the Super Over with two wickets.

Sufiyan Muqeem claimed 3/11 in his four overs. Habibur Rahman Sohan’s 26 off 17 was the top score for Bangladesh A.

In the Super Over, Ahmed Daniyal restricted Bangladesh A to 6/2 from three balls after removing Abdul Gaffar Saqlain and Jishan Alam. In reply, Pakistan Shaheens, thanks to Saad Masood and Maaz Sadaqat, chased down the target in four balls without losing a wicket.

This was Pakistan Shaheens’ third title at the Rising Stars Asia Cup, formerly known as the Emerging Teams Asia Cup.

Champions in 2019 and 2023, Pakistan Shaheens are now the most successful cricket team in the tournament’s history, ahead of two-time winners Sri Lanka A and one-time champions India A and Afghanistan A.

Pakistan Shaheens never recovered from a chaotic start that saw them reduced to 2/2 within seven balls. Yasir Khan was run out without scoring off the first delivery of the match and Mohammad Faiq fell for a duck in the second over when SM Meherob knocked over his stumps. 

Ghazi Ghori was bowled for nine by Rakibul Hasan, who struck with his first delivery as Pakistan slipped to 25/3.

Maaz Sadaqat’s busy 18-ball 23 offered some resistance before he chopped on against Jishan Alam and Arafat Minhas’ 25 off 23 balls ended when Abdul Gaffar Saqlain breached his defence with an off-cutter that kept low. At 64/5 in the 11th over, the innings was firmly in Bangladesh A’s control.

Pakistan captain Irfan Khan struggled for fluency, crawling to nine off 22 balls before Rakibul Hasan trapped him LBW to make it 75/6. The only notable late push came from Saad Masood, whose 38 off 26 with three fours and three sixes lifted Pakistan towards a competitive score. However, his dismissal sparked a late collapse engineered by a superb spell from Ripon Mondol.

Mondol delivered a sensational 19th over burst, claiming three wickets in four balls with pinpoint yorkers. He removed Shahid Aziz LBW, cleaned up the well-set Masood two balls later, and then knocked back Ubaid Shah’s middle stump. Pakistan slid from 116/6 to 118/9 in the space of three deliveries and eventually could only manage 125.

Bangladesh A’s chase of 126 began as a brisk start but quickly descended into a collapse as Pakistan Shaheens’ spinners ripped through the top order. 

Habibur Rahman Sohan provided early momentum with a lively 26 off 17 balls, striking three fours and two sixes to push Bangladesh A to 36/1 by the fourth over. However, his dismissal sparked a dramatic slide which left Bangladesh A wobbling at 48/5 in eight overs.

A double-wicket over from Sufiyan Muqeem reduced Bangladesh A to 53/7 in the 11th over.

SM Meherob and Rakibul Hasan brought Bangladesh A back into the contest with a 37-run partnership, which was broken by Ahmed Daniyal in the 16th over.

Bangladesh A, needing 36 off 27 when the partnership came to an end, could muster only nine from the next two overs, with scores at 99/9 at the end of the 18th.

However, Shahid Aziz’s 19th over swung the match dramatically as Bangladesh A smashed 20 runs, including three sixes – two from Abdul Gaffar Saqlain and one from Ripon Mondol. The pair took full advantage of missed yorkers, reducing the equation to seven runs needed from the last over.

Despite pinpoint accuracy from Ahmed Daniyal in the final over, Ripon Mondol and Abdul Gaffar Saqlain collected a nervy two, a couple of singles and two crucial byes to level the scores and take the match into the Super Over.

Earlier in the tournament, Pakistan Shaheens topped their group unbeaten with wins over UAE, India A and Oman. In the semi-finals, they got the better of Sri Lanka A by five runs while defending 153. Bangladesh A, meanwhile, beat India A in the Super Over for a place in the final.

Pakistan Shaheens vs Bangladesh A, Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025 final, brief scores: Pakistan Shaheens 125/10 in 20 overs and 8/0 in 0.4 overs (Saad Masood 38; Ripon Mondol 3/25) beat Bangladesh A 125/9 in 20 overs and 6/2 in 0.3 overs (Habibur Rahman Sohan 26, Rakibul Hasan 24; Sufiyan Muqeem 3/11) in Super Over.