Bangladesh have never won a T20I series with more than one game against Pakistan. But that was true only till Tuesday, when the hosts wrapped up the series in their favour, with one game to spare. This means the last T20I is of virtually no importance, that is, unless Bangladesh go on to shake a few more record books with a clean sweep. In which case, things will become even glummer for Pakistan.
This isn’t an isolated predicament for Pakistan. Neither are the pitches fully behind their dismal way of playing. The format lately hasn’t been too kind to them. Since the start of last year, Pakistan have lost 22 out of 27 games and won only 13. From those 13, six came against lower-ranked teams, including Canada, Zimbabwe, and Ireland. With the T20 World Cup approaching, these aren’t too promising signs.
One could argue that Pakistan are a work in progress. The T20 World Cup squad is definitely going to be largely different from the present one. But they might be running late to figure who they want to stick with and who to put away for a while.
Team Overview:
Saying Pakistan’s top order has been dismal in this series would be an understatement. In the last game, the top six managed only 18 runs, thanks to three ducks laced across the lineup. Barring Fakhar Zaman’s fought-hard 44-run knock, none of the first six batters entered double figures. This forced the lower-order players to step up in a role too big for them to undertake. The bowling lineup, fortunately, wasn’t as much of a disappointment in exploiting the riches Mirpur was offering.
Bangladesh had an early scare at the start, but Jaker Ali and Mahedi Hasan rescued them to post a respectable total by Dhaka’s standards. The win, however, was achieved by the hosts’ bowling attack, which defended 133 expertly. Mustafizur Rahman was too good to go wicketless and deservingly took the big fish to wrap the series.
Head-to-Head Matches:
The recent series took Bangladesh’s wins against Pakistan to five in 23 games, still behind Pakistan’s 19, but with how Bangladesh have rejuvenated in the format, they might not be too long from catching up.
Weather and Pitch Report:
The surface will once again help bowlers put up a riveting show, with batters trying to survive on the scrapes. The last game saw spinners being more useful than pacers, but the Dhaka sky is greyer than before, which could mean two things: pacers would find more advantage, but the forecast predicts heavy rain in the later stages.
Prediction:
Pakistan would go all out for a consolation win and to avoid a series clean sweep that would worsen their wounds, but with Mirpur’s demons ganging up with Bangladesh, this might be a difficult task.
Where to Watch:
You can tune into the following platforms to watch the 3rd T20I between Pakistan and Bangladesh:
Pakistan: Tapmad, Tamasha, PTV Sports, A Sports, Ten Sports
Bangladesh: T Sports, Nagorik TV, Rabbithole
India: FanCode
MENA: Cricbuzz
Africa (except North Africa): SuperSport
US: Willow TV
Rest of the World: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) YouTube Channel
