Tanzid Hasan stars as Bangladesh claim nervy win to seal series

Bangladesh clinched the three-match ODI series 2-1 after an 11-run win over Pakistan in the third ODI. Tanzid Hasan Tamim's maiden ODI century led Bangladesh's batting effort before their pacers derailed Pakistan's chase early. Salman Agha countered with a century for Pakistan, but Bangladesh held on in a tense finish.

Asked to bat first, Bangladesh's openers laid a solid foundation with a century stand. Tanzid signaled his intent early, striking Haris Rauf for a four and a six in the second over. The Powerplay featured boundaries, but Pakistan kept the batters in check despite little help for the seamers.

Bangladesh accelerated after the fielding restrictions eased, with the 11th and 12th overs yielding 11 and 15 runs respectively. The tempo settled as Bangladesh handled the spinners, finding the fence occasionally.

Tanzid reached his fifty off 47 balls in the 16th over, then struck a six and a four in the next two overs. The 105-run opening stand ended in the 19th over when Shaheen Afridi bowled Saif Hassan. A 53-run partnership followed between Tanzid and Najmul Hossain Shanto.

Even after Shanto fell lbw to Rauf, Bangladesh were well placed at 160/2 after 30 overs. Tanzid brought up his maiden ODI ton in the 33rd over, skipping down to loft Salman Agha over long-off.

A total above 300 looked likely, but acceleration never came. With the wearing ball gripping, Pakistan's spinners tied the batters down. Tanzid fell to Abrar Ahmed in the 37th over, and Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy struggled to lift the rate. Hard running and occasional boundaries kept Bangladesh ticking.

A 68-run stand ended with Das holing out in the 47th over, and Rishad Hossain fell next ball. Hridoy struck crucial boundaries in the 48th over, guiding Bangladesh to 290/5 with an unbeaten 48.

Pakistan's chase started disastrously, losing three wickets in the first three overs. Taskin Ahmed had Sahibzada Farhan caught behind off extra bounce. Maaz Sadaqat edged Nahid Rana behind after a six. Taskin then bowled Mohammed Rizwan with an in-dipper, leaving Pakistan at 17/3.

Debutant Ghazi Ghori showed no nerves, starting his ODI career with a six and four off Rana. Abdul Samad also began with boundaries. The pair added 50 runs to stabilize the innings, though both survived close run-out chances.

Ghori chopped on to Rana in the 14th over. Samad fell three overs later, nicking Mustafizur Rahman. At 82/5, Salman Agha anchored Pakistan's revival. A 79-run partnership with Saad Masood was the first of three key stands. After Masood fell, Salman added 48 with Faheem Ashraf.

Salman kept the asking rate in check with timely strikes. He reached fifty with a six off Rishad in the 36th over and remained composed even at 209/7 after Ashraf's dismissal in the 40th.

Salman brought up his century, his third in ODIs, with a six in the 44th over. Pakistan needed 45 off the last five overs. Bangladesh held the advantage but were guilty of fielding lapses under pressure.

Salman fell in the 48th over, holing out to Taskin Ahmed's slower ball. Needing 28 off two overs, Shaheen struck Mustafizur for two sixes. Mustafizur suffered a painful blow to his left knee but recovered to take a wicket off his final ball.

14 runs were needed off the final over bowled by Rishad. The game could have ended when Shaheen mistimed a slog-sweep on the second ball, but Rishad dropped the catch running backwards. Drama continued with a couple of runs and a dot.

With 12 needed off two balls, Shaheen walked across for another slog-sweep and seemingly missed. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena signaled wide, but Bangladesh protested for caught-behind. A review showed an UltraEdge spike, and Dharmasena reversed the wide decision, though Shaheen was not out as the ball bounced after contact. The game ended with Shaheen stumped off the final delivery.

Brief Scores: Bangladesh 290/5 in 50 overs (Tanzid Hasan Tamim 107, Towhid Hridoy 48*; Haris Rauf 3-52) beat Pakistan 279 all out in 50 overs (Salman Agha 106; Taskin Ahmed 4-49, Mustafizur Rahman 3-54) by 11 runs.