The drubbing which Bangladesh faced on home soil in the hands of Pakistan is something the Tigers will quickly like to brush off from their minds. Bangladesh were outplayed by Pakistan in every department of the game in this three-match T20 series and got whitewashed.
In the last the and final T20I match on Monday, Tigers fought till the last ball but it was not enough.
With 26 needed off the last four overs. It came down to eight off the final one. With no other choice due to the situation created by Taskin's injury, Mahmudullah puts his hand up despite not having bowled earlier in the game. And what drama it led to! A couple of wickets early to get the crowd screaming at the top of their voice, before a six from Iftikhar and a fierce blow off the final ball from Nawaz crushed their dreams. It's the closest the Bangladesh bowlers have got all series, as they've found themselves having to compensate for the lack of runs from their batters.
Despite having wickets in hand, Bangladesh failed to accelerate at the death throughout the series. In a game of 120 balls, Bangladesh played a total of 58 dots on Monday -- a feat that contributed heavily to the Tigers' below-par collection on a relatively sporting Mirpur wicket. Bangladesh batters were able to score 35 runs in the last five overs while losing four wickets during this period. No Shakib, no Tamim, and no Mushfiq, and there've been no runs at all with Bangladesh struggling on a tired Dhaka pitch. It shouldn't have been so difficult for Pakistan given how well they were placed. But you can't complain from a neutral's standpoint.
After the match Mahmudullah said, “It's hard to say. Batters from both teams struggled a bit. Need to spend some time at the crease to capitalise. I really appreciate the way Taskin came back after having the injury on his bowling hand. Great character shown.”
