Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 74 runs in the third and final T20I of the series. The game took place at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Thursday, July 24. Yet, Bangladesh won the series 2-1, having beaten their opponents in the first two matches earlier. Captain Litton Das beamed with pride at having lifted the series. However, he berated his players for not being sharp enough on the field or bowling well in the death overs. This failure ultimately led to the loss in the final game.
In this match, Pakistan batted first and put up a commanding total of 178-7 on the board. Openers Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub got their team off to a good start before the latter was dismissed with the score at 82 in the eighth over. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammed Haris could not contribute much (five) and made way for Hasan Nawaz, who impressed with a well-crafted 33. After his dismissal, Hussain Talat had also joined him in the pavilion, and Mohammad Nawaz scored a brisk 27.
Farhan, however, remained the top scorer for Pakistan in this game with a 41-ball 63. Seamer Taskin Ahmed was the star of the show for Bangladesh, returning with figures of 3-38. In response, when the Bangladeshis walked out to bat, they put up a disappointing show and were bowled out for a meagre 104 in just 16.4 overs. None of their batters took responsibility for trying to chase this total down, with lower-order batter Mohammad Saifuddin (who is primarily a bowler) starring with a 34-ball 35.
Bangladesh’s poor batting performance belied their overall showing throughout the series. It also highlighted why they have been so consistently inconsistent in recent times. Captain Das is obviously proud of the fact that his team managed to lift the series. Yet, he will be disheartened by the way his batters failed to show any responsibility whatsoever when they were given the task of chasing Pakistan’s total. Bangladesh just did not put up a fight against Pakistan in this match and went down meekly.
