Bangladesh had already secured the T20 series by winning the first two matches. So, in the third and final game, the team management decided to give opportunities to several bench players. However, the five changes in the playing XI didn’t bring positive results. With both the batting and bowling underperforming, the Tigers suffered a heavy 74-run defeat.
Batting first after losing the toss in Mirpur, Pakistan posted 178/7 in 20 overs. Sahibzada Farhan led the scoring with a brilliant 63 off 41 balls. Taskin Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh, claiming 3 wickets. In response, Bangladesh collapsed for 104 runs in just 16 overs, losing all 10 wickets within 96 balls.
Chasing a challenging target, Bangladesh got off to a disastrous start. Opener Tanjid Tamim was dismissed in the very first over, caught behind off Salman Mirza. Though initially not given out, Pakistan reviewed successfully.
Captain Liton Das, under pressure to stabilize the innings, failed to deliver and managed just 8 runs from 8 balls. Mehedi Hasan Miraz showed a glimpse of hope but couldn’t build on it, scoring 9 off 8 before falling to Fahim Ashraf.
Bangladesh 2-1 Pakistan
The middle order collapsed quickly Sheikh Mehedi and Jaker Ali fell in the fifth over to Salman Mirza, leaving Bangladesh reeling at 25/5. At the end of the powerplay, the team had only 29 runs with five wickets down.
The lower order didn’t offer much resistance either. Shamim Hossain scored 5 runs, while Mohammad Saifuddin stood out slightly with an unbeaten 35 off 34 balls, merely reducing the margin of defeat.
Unlike their previous outings, Bangladesh failed to restrict Pakistan early on. Sahibzada Farhan was in top form, attacking from the start even on a slow Mirpur pitch. His fluent strokeplay saw Pakistan reach 57/0 in the powerplay.
Nasum Ahmed finally provided the breakthrough by dismissing Sayyid Ayub for 21 in the eighth over. Farhan, however, reached his half-century in just 29 balls before falling to Mehedi Hasan after scoring 63.
Pakistan lost a few wickets in the middle overs, but Hasan Nawaz (33 off 17) and Mohammad Nawaz (27 off 16) pushed the total to 178. Taskin Ahmed finished with 3 wickets, while Nasum claimed 2. Saifuddin and Shoriful Islam took one wicket each.
Despite already winning the series, Bangladesh’s experiment in the third T20 backfired, showing the depth issues in the squad.