Bangladesh vs Pakistan 3rd ODI: Salman Agha's century in vain as BAN seal series with thrilling win

Match Overview

Bangladesh registered their second successive ODI series win over Pakistan, beating them by 11 runs in the third and final match of the series on Sunday, March 15 at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka. After being put in to bat first, Bangladesh posted a good score of 290/5 in their allotted 50 overs, riding on a splendid hundred from Tanzid Hasan Tamim.

In reply, Pakistan came mighty close to chasing down the target courtesy of a splendid century from Salman Agha (106 off 98). However, they were eventually bundled out for 279 in their 50 overs, handing Bangladesh a narrow win.

Earlier, Bangladesh got off to an incredible start with openers Saif Hassan (36 off 55) and Tanzid adding 105 runs for the first wicket off 109 balls. Apart from them, valuable contributions from Litton Das (41 off 51) and Towhid Hridoy (48* off 44) guided Bangladesh to a score of 290. 

In reply, Pakistan were reduced to 17/3 in 2.5 overs with Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana (2/62) running through their top order. Sahibzada Farhan (6 off 5), last game’s Player of the Match Maaz Sadaqat (6 off 5) and Mohammad Rizwan (4 off 4) all returned to the pavilion cheaply.

Salman Agha walked to the crease with Pakistan reeling at 67/4 after 14 overs, and stitched crucial stands with Saad Masood (38 off 44), Faheem Ashraf (9 off 20) and Shaheen Afridi (37 off 38) to get them closer to the target.

However, his dismissal in the 48^th over, left the tail with a mountain to climb, and Bangladesh managed to register a thrilling win to seal the series.

Best Batter of the Match

Best Bowler of the Match

Player of the Match

Tanzid Hasan Tamim

The Bangladesh opener played a brilliant innings to get his team off to a rollicking start and notched up a magnificent century to help them post a good score. Courtesy of his hundred, the remaining players batted around him and guided their team to a respectable score.

Turning Point

Salman Agha’s dismissal in the 48^th over of Pakistan’s chase turned out to be the game-changing moment of the match. Pakistan needed 30 runs to win from the last 15 balls, and it seemed possible with Agha at the crease. However, he lofted Taskin Ahmed to deep mid-wicket and lost his wicket at the most crucial stage of the match.

What did the captains say

Winning Captain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz (BAN):

Definitely, it was an excellent match. And yes, sometimes I was also afraid, like, you know, the boys played really well in the last over 14 runs. Everybody is afraid. (on their score) Definitely. I think it was an excellent wicket. If we could get 300, definitely it would be better. But it's still well. We're playing well, especially with Tamim, the way he batted. And definitely, they played really, really well. And then Litton Das and Shanto, Towhid, they played really well. (on Taskin) Yeah, definitely. I think Taskin bowled really well. The last three overs, two wickets. And in the end, he got two wickets. Definitely, the momentum is there. I think whole of the series, I think Taskin, Nahidul and they bowled really, really well. And they make the partnership. So I'm really, really happy. 

Losing Captain, Shaheen Afridi (PAK): 

I think that we did a little bit, but I'm really proud of the team. They fought till the end, and I think what we need there for youngster and they fight for till the last minute. (on Agha) Yeah, Salman is always a very good player and he always well in middle-order. He likes to play the spin and not so fast. I think Salman for a long, long time, he played for Pakistan and had a very good innings. So really proud and my team, the youngsters came here for the one-day first time and they played. I think really, really proud today, like the way they played, really proud. We all support them. (on his batting) Yeah, I was trying like that's my job. But yeah, I should bowl really well. And I think congrats to the Bangladesh team. They played really well. (on the youngsters) Yeah, of course, there was always improvement and we also come here and then play international cricket and you need international cricket a little bit. You know, more hard work and more effort in all three departments. But yeah, the youngster in the first international series. So we will back them and they're playing good cricket.