DHAKA: Bangladesh opener Tanzid Hasan scored a maiden century and their fast bowlers shared nine wickets between them as they combined to defeat Pakistan by 11 runs in the third ODI to take the series 2-1. This was Bangladesh’s second successive ODI series win against Pakistan at home after three straight losses.

Tanzid, later adjudged Player of the Match and Player of the Series, scored 107 to lift Bangladesh to 290 for five after they had been sent in to bat. Taskin Ahmed then claimed four for 49, Mustafizur Rahman three for 54 and Nahid Rana two for 62 as Pakistan were bowled out for 279 despite Salman Ali Agha’s second century in 49 matches.

Salman had walked out to bat with Pakistan wobbling at 67 for four and was teh eight batter to be dismissed after scoring 106 from 98 balls with nine fours and four sixes. He had reached his half-century from 60 balls with five fours and a six, while his century came off 89 balls with nine fours and four sixes. When he departed, Pakistan needed 30 runs off 14 balls.

Salman was involved in three partnerships that kept Pakistan’s in the hunt.

For the sixth wicket, with debutant Saad Masood (38, 44b, 5×4), Salman added 79 runs from 82 balls. He then put on 48 runs from 49 balls for the seventh wicket with Faheem Ashraf (9). For the eighth wicket with Shaheen Shah Afridi (37, 38b, 2×4, 2×6), Salman stitched together a 52-run partnership from 49 balls.

Pakistan’s other partnership of note was for the fourth wicket between Abdul Samad (34, 45b, 5×4) and debutant Ghazi Ghori (29, 39b, 3×4, 1×6), which yielded 50 runs off 67 balls.

Earlier, Tanzid’s run-a-ball 107 included six fours and seven sixes, while Bangladesh’s 290 for five was built on five decent and timely partnerships.

For the opening wicket, Tanzid put on 105 runs from 109 balls with Saif Hassan (36, 55b, 3×4), while Tanzid added 53 runs from 67 balls for the second wicket with Najmul Hossain Shanto (27, 34b, 3×4). The third-wicket stand between Litton Das (41, 51b, 1×4, 1×6) and Tanzid yielded 36 runs from 42 balls, while Litton and Towhid Hridoy (48 not out, 44b, 4×4) added 68 runs from 61 balls for the fourth wicket.

For Pakistan, Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers as he returned figures of 10-0-53-3. Abrar Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up one wicket each.

Pakistan’s team management continued to surprise with their playing line-ups. For Sunday’s match, they included 22-year-old Ghazi Ghori as a specialist batter, after selecting him in the 15-player squad ahead of better-performing wicketkeeper-batters. He replaced No.3 batter Shamyl Hussain, who failed in the opening two matches. Ghazi has a batting average of 20.60 in List A cricket.

Saad Masood was the other player to receive his ODI cap when he replaced Hussain Talat, who has been ruled out for 12–14 weeks after injuring his shoulder while fielding during the second ODI. Saad had a decent match, returning figures of 8-0-55-0 with his wrist-spin bowling and then contributing 38 with the bat.

In this series, Pakistan awarded six ODI caps to Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Shamyl Hussain, Ghazi Ghori, Abdul Samad and Saad Masood. It remains to be seen how many of these players can retain their places in the next ODI series, which is not scheduled until October, when Pakistan will host a tri-series (according to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme).

The series win is expected to help Bangladesh move ahead of West Indies in ninth place in the ICC ODI Team Rankings, while Pakistan will remain fourth despite losing a point or two as they lost the series to a side that was ranked six places below them.

While the series successfully launched Bangladesh’s effort to enter the top eight so that they can gain direct qualification for the ICC Men’s 50-over World Cup 2027 in Africa, Pakistan had aimed to put aside the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 disappointment and start their journey to the 2027 World Cup on a winning note.

Unfortunately, the series against Bangladesh left Pakistan with more questions than answers. These included player selections, playing line-up combinations and match-day strategies.

With Pakistan playing limited ODI cricket in the lead-up to the World Cup unless late series against high-profile teams are scheduled, Pakistan will have to make optimum use of their opportunities. For that to happen, they will have to get everything right to ensure Pakistan puts up a decent performance in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Scores in brief:

3rd ODI – Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 11 runs, won series 2-1

BANGLADESH 290-5, 50 overs (Tanzid Hasan 107, Towhid Hridoy 48 not out, Litton Das 41, Saif Hassan 36, Najmul Hossain Shanto 27; Haris Rauf 3-53)

PAKISTAN 279 all out, 50 overs (Salman Ali Agha 106, Saad Masood 38, Shaheen Shah Afridi 37, Abdul Samad 34, Ghazi Ghori 29; Taskin Ahmed 4-49, Mustafizur Rahman 3-54, Nahid Rana 2-62)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – Tanzid Hasan (Bangladesh)

PLAYER OF THE SERIES – Tanzid Hasan (Bangladesh)

1st ODI – Bangladesh beat Pakistan by eight wickets2nd ODI – Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 128 runs (DLS method), Mirpur (revised target: 243 in 32 overs)