Bangladesh's hopes of reaching the SAFF Championship final were dashed as Pakistan secured a historic 1-0 victory in the exciting second semifinal at the National Stadium on Saturday, booking their place in the title decider for the first time.
Abdul Samad Shahzad struck the decisive goal late in the match to send Pakistan into the final, where they will face arch-rivals India on November 17 at the same venue.
India earlier booked their place in the final for the 10th time, defeating Bhutan 2-1 in the day's first semifinal.
The defeat ended Bangladesh's hopes of returning to the SAFF final, having last reached the title decider in 2005.
Bangladesh enjoyed the better of the opening half, dominating possession and creating several scoring opportunities, but poor finishing let them down.
They threatened as early as the seventh minute when Syed Quazem Kirmanee, set up by Rakib Hossain, unleashed a left-footed effort from outside the box, only for Pakistan goalkeeper Yousuf to make a comfortable save.
Bangladesh came close again in the 22nd minute. Farhaan Ali Wahid delivered a corner from the right, and Rakib attempted a shot from inside the box, but the Pakistani goalkeeper intervened to keep the hosts at bay.
Pakistan, meanwhile, nearly took the lead in the 32nd minute when Abdullah controlled a cross from the middle of the pitch and fired a shot that beat the goalkeeper but struck the post before going out for a corner.
Bangladesh finished the first half with 59 percent possession, compared to Pakistan's 41 percent. Hamza Choudhury was influential in midfield, dictating the play, creating opportunities in attack and tracking back to support the defence. Pakistan largely relied on counter-attacks.
After the break, Pakistan looked more organised and gradually increased the pressure on the Bangladesh defence as both teams searched for the breakthrough.
Pakistan came close in the 75th minute when Adil Bani unleashed a powerful free-kick, but Bangladesh goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon produced an excellent diving save to his left, punching the ball away.
Srabon was called into action again six minutes later when substitute Najeeb Ullah beat a defender and fired from the edge of the box. The Bangladesh custodian dived to his right to punch the ball clear.
However, Pakistan finally broke the deadlock in the 86th minute. Receiving a close pass, Shahzad fired a left-footed angled shot beyond Srabon's reach to seal the victory and send Pakistan into their maiden SAFF Championship final.
Bangladesh tried their best to stage a fight back creating some chances but could not find the net in the remaining proceeding
Earlier, Bangladesh made two changes to their starting XI, with Rahmat Mia replacing the injured Saad Uddin and Shuki Itofusa coming in for Mohammad Ibrahim.
Mehedi Hasan Srabon started in goal, with Zayyan Ahmed, Tariq Raihan Kazi and Zidane Yousuf forming the defensive line. Topu Barman and Bishwanath Ghosh were left out of the starting XI.
Hamza Choudhury, Shamit Shome and Shah Quazem Kirmanee anchored the midfield, while Rakib Hossain, Farhaan Ali Wahid and Shuki Itofusa led the attack.
Head coach Thomas Dooley fielded eight expatriate players in the starting XI. Jamal Bhuyan, who featured in Bangladesh's previous match against Sri Lanka, was left out.