Pakistan produced a dominant performance with both bat and ball to defeat hosts Bangladesh by a commanding margin of 74 runs in the third and final match of the Twenty20 International series in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Thursday.
Bangladesh captain Liton Das won the toss and elected to field first.
Having already sealed the series 2-0, Bangladesh made five changes to their playing XI for the final game.
Pakistan’s openers delivered an explosive start, unlike the previous two matches, as Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub put on 57 runs during the powerplay.
Ayub (21 off 15) was clean bowled by Nasum Ahmed in the eighth over, but by then, Pakistan had already reached 82 runs, setting a strong platform.
Sahibzada continued his fine form and scored a brisk 63 off 41 balls, including six fours and five sixes.
Pakistan’s middle-order capitalized on the strong start, scoring at a good rate to post a challenging total of 178 for seven in their allotted 20 overs.
Hasan Nawaz (33 off 17) and Mohammad Nawaz (27 off 16) made valuable contributions in the middle-order.
For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed and Nasum took two wickets apiece.
In reply, Bangladesh suffered a disastrous start to their chase, losing five wickets in the powerplay with just 29 runs on the board.
Tanzid Hasan Tamim (nought), Liton (eight), Mehedi Hasan Miraz (nine), Jaker Ali Anik (one), and Mahedi Hasan (nought) all departed within the first six overs.
Shamim Hossain Patwary (five) also fell in the seventh over, ending Bangladesh’s faint hopes of chasing the target down.
Saifuddin remained unbeaten with 35 off 34 balls, helping Bangladesh cross the 100-run mark and reduce the margin of defeat.
Mohammad Naim (10) was the only other batsman to reach double figure.
Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 104 in 16.4 overs.
Salman Mirza was the most successful bowler for Pakistan, claiming three wickets, while Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Nawaz took two each.
Despite the heavy defeat in the third match, Bangladesh sealed a historic 2-1 series victory - their first-ever T20I series win over Pakistan - following their eight-wicket triumph in the first game and a thrilling eight-run success in the second.
