Pakistan were labouring in their chase of 128 until Mohammad Haris (31 off 18) and Shan Masood (24 not out from 14) combined to break the spirits of Bangladesh's bowlers
Adelaide: Bangladesh 127-8, Pakistan 128-5 - Pakistan won by five wickets
Pakistan have qualified for the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup after defeating Bangladesh by five wickets in Adelaide.
Babar Azam's side looked down and out of the competition after losing their opening two matches but following the Netherlands' shock win over South Africa both they and Bangladesh were handed a lifeline ahead of this crunch clash.
Mohammad Haris (31 off 18) and Shan Masood (24 not out from 14) proved the difference between the two sides, breaking the spirits of Bangladesh's bowlers who did an admirable job in attempting to defend a small total.
Pakistan join India, New Zealand and England in the semi-finals while Bangladesh risk finishing bottom of group two if Zimbabwe beat India.
Najmul Shanto scored a half-century for Bangladesh [Sarah Reed/Getty Images]
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Bangladesh started positively through Najmul Shanto and Litton Das before the latter was removed by Shaheen Shah Afridi (caught Masood) in the third over.
Shanto was dropped twice inside the powerplay, which Bangladesh finished on 40 for 1, and the opener settled into a steady 52-run partnership with Soumya Sarkar to see his side safely to the halfway mark.
However, as is so often the case, the tides turned after drinks, with Shadab Khan striking twice in two balls to reduce Bangladesh to 73 for 3. Sarkar was caught by Masood for 20 while Shakib Al Hasan was deemed lbw, a decision which displeased the Bangladesh skipper who appeared to think he got bat on ball.
Shanto brought up his second half-century of the tournament off 46 balls in the 13th over but that was as good as it got in the latter stages for Bangladesh, who scored just 57 runs and lost seven wickets in the second half of their innings.
Shanto (54 off 48) was bowled by Iftikhar Ahmed shortly after raising his bat before Bangladesh crumbled at the death.
Shaheen struck twice in four balls in the 17th to remove Mossadek Hossain and Nurul Hasan before combining with Babar Azam to remove Taskin Ahmed in the 19th and bring up career-best T20I figures of 4 for 22. Haris Rauf had Nasum Ahmed caught by Mohammad Wasim in the final over as Bangladesh closed on 127 for 8.
Shan Masood made a crucial contribution at the death [Sarah Reed/Getty Images]
In reply, after a nervy start saw Mohammad Rizwan dropped on nought, Pakistan made it to drinks without further incident, although neither opener looked comfortable in the middle. Babar laboured to 25 off 32 balls while Rizwan was 31 off 28.
Both players fell in the space of two overs after the break, with Babar top-edging to Mustafizur Rahman at short third and Rizwan picking out Shanto off Ebadot Hossain: Pakistan 61 for 2 with 67 required off 52 balls.
Haris and Mohammad Nawaz maintained a steady course until the 14th over when the former burst into life with a four and a six off Ebadot to bring the required rate back down to just over a run-a-ball.
The following over Nawaz was run out by Das but it little to halt Pakistan's momentum, with Haris and Masood adding a swift 29 (14) for the fourth wicket.
Haris (31 off 18) was removed by Shakib (caught Ahmed) while Iftikhar was removed by Rahman (caught Shanto) but it was too little, too late and Masood deservedly hit the winning runs, sealing the deal with 11 balls to spare.
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