Pakistan defeat Bangladesh by 5 wickets in the low-scoring thriller to clinch the series with a 3-0 clean sweep.
In reply to Bangladesh’s total, Pakistan started slowly. The opening pair of skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan didn’t show any urgency at all.
As the Bangladeshi spinners kept bowling with tight line and length, Pakistan ended the powerplay with 28 runs on the board for no damage.
However, Aminul got the better of Babar (19 off 25) in the following over. In the next 3 overs, Pakistani batters Rizwan and Haider looked a bit sluggish as Pakistan could manage to accumulate only 46 runs halfway through.
However, Rizwan decided to charge after the drinks break. With Haider Ali’s support, he hit a few fours and sixes that helped Pakistan score 37 runs in the next 4 overs.
Debutant Shahidul bowled Rizwan (40 off 43) in the 16th over to break the menacing 51 runs stand. However, he was stuck for 2 sixes by Haider Ali that released all the pressure from the Pakistani batters.
Haider Ali with Sarfaraz Ahmed kept Pakistan well on course. However, the game took an unexpected turn in the last over to produce some breath-taking moments.
Pakistan needed 8 runs off the final 6 deliveries and the Tigers skipper Mahmudullah came to bowl. A dot ball followed by the wicket of Sarfaraz meant drama was brewing.
As the set batter Haider Ali got caught by Shanto in the long-on in the following delivery, the crowd peaked roaring as the momentum suddenly seemed to have pulled Bangladesh's way. Pakistan still needed 8 runs from 3 balls.
However, new batter Iftekhar finished the drama with one big hit, cleaning the long-off boundary. Followed by another dot ball, Iftekhar hit a boundary off the final delivery to finish things off.
Shahidul and Aminul picked 1 wicket each. Taskin, Mahedi and Nasum bowled brilliantly giving away only 16, 19 and 20 runs respectively.
Earlier, winning the toss, Bangladesh chose to bat first in the third consecutive game. They came with 3 changes as Nasum and Shamim returned to the team with Shahidul Islam earning his debut T20I cap.
For Pakistan, Shahnawaz Dahani made his debut today.
Bangladesh started their innings with yet another new opening pair in the form of Shanto and Naim. Shanto (5 off 5) gifted Dahani his first T20I wicket in the 2nd over of the innings.
Shamim and Naim tried to steady the innings but they were too slow. Shamim scored run-a-ball 22 runs before getting out in the 8th over from a Usman Qadir delivery.
Naim was steady at one end of the crease, however, kept playing too many dot balls. Afif, although playing some strokes, couldn’t accelerate due to increasing dot ball counts.
After Afif’s departure (20 off 21) in the 15th over, skipper Mahmudullah came down in the middle to accelerate but failed. He scored 12 from 13 deliveries before getting out in the 18th over.
Nurul and Naim fell shortly after that. A 7 runs final over saw the Tigers' final score going past the 120 runs mark with Aminul Islam getting run out in the final delivery.
Naim, with his slow 47 runs (50) knock was the highest scorer for Bangladesh.
For Pakistan, Usman Qadir and Mohammad Wasim both picked up 2 wickets. Dahani and Rauf bagged 1 each.
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