AI Simulation, BAN vs PAK | Pakistan crumble again in third T20I to hand Bangladesh epic 3-0 clean sweep

Today at 6:54 PM

Litton Das registered his first series win as Bangladesh's full-time T20I skipper against Pakistan in Mirpur

As per Chat GPT, Bangladesh will emerge victorious by 16 runs in another thriller against Pakistan at the Shere Bangla Stadium to complete a famous 3-0 whitewash. The visitors were set 153 to chase but a regular fall of wickets saw them end short, despite Faheem Ashraf's explosive cameo late on.

Pitch and Weather

The Mirpur deck continued to be tricky for the batters with persistent showers on the eve and morning of the third T20I leading to a damp surface. There was a hint of swing with the new ball under lights along with uneven bounce, but the ball gripped plenty for spinners as the match wore on.

Even though clouds dominated the sky throughout the clash, at no point did the heavens burst upon, allowing 40-overs of rain-free contest in extremely humid conditions with the temperature hovering around 30 degrees Celsius. Dew made an appearance as well during the second half of the match.

Toss

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Lineups

Bangladesh: Parvez Hossain Emon, Naim Sheikh, Litton Das (c/wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Abbas Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed

Match Report

Bangladesh began with intent after being put into bat first as Parvez Hossain Emon and Mohammad Naim combined for four boundaries in as many overs to push past 30 before Salman Mirza scalped the latter to provide Pakistan their first breakthrough. The left-arm quick then added Litton Das to his tally in the final over of the powerplay to further give the visitors impetus with the score 42/2 after six. Nevertheless, Parvez kept motoring along with Towhid Hridoy for company, the latter taking his time while the opener tonked another couple of boundaries and a maximum. However, the opener played one shot too many and had to depart for a quick 33, bringing Jaker Ali to the crease. Hridoy departed soon after to hand Faheem Ashraf a second scalp, forcing Jaker and Mehidy Hasan Mirza to take stock as a sedate but assured 40-run stand followed. However, just when the duo had got the hosts to a nice lauchpad of 120/4 after 16, Pakistan struck three in two overs to remove both incumbents and leave Bangladesh staring at a sub-150 total. Mahedi Hasan took it upon himself to give his team the edge as he played 11 of the last 12 balls to muster 19 runs, ensuring the visitors have to chase a tricky 153.

A third top-order collapse in as many games followed for Pakistan as Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, and Hasan Nawaz all departed for cheap in the powerplay. Fakhar Zaman yet again looked to be the only threat for the Men in Green, as he struck five flawless boundaries against the new ball to keep the team afloat at 33/3 after six. With Salman Agha also looking steady at the other end, the hopes of a game-changing partnership brewed until Mahedi arrived to rescue his team once again. The offie made one hold its line through Fakhar's gate to send him packing for 30, paving the path for Mustafizur Rahman to send Mohammad Nawaz and Khushdil Shah packing on consecutive deliveries. At 50/6 in nine, Pakistan seemed to be speedrunning towards another loss but Ashraf had other plans. The all-rounder initially ticked around calmly while the skipper unleashed a couple of boundaries at the other end but once Salman holed out for a 20-ball 18, Faheem flicked a switch. The veteran struck three fours and two sixes across the next three overs, while Abbas Afridi added a couple of lusty blows of his own, and the equation suddenly read 54 required in the final five. However, talisman Mahedi returned again to seize momentum as he had Faheem hole out for a rapid 18-ball 32, and once Abbas departed the next over it was all smooth sailing for the Tigers. Pakistan's tailenders managed to somehow hold fort through the end but ended 16 short to hand Bangladesh a famous victory.

Player of the Match

Mahedi Hasan was adjudged the man of the match for a crucial unbeaten cameo of 19 in just 11 deliveries down the order to take Bangladesh past 150, before scalping the big wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Faheem Ashraf at the cost of just 22 runs in four overs to seal victory.