Tanzid Hasan stars as Bangladesh claim nervy win to seal series

Bangladesh clinched the three match ODI series 2-1 after a nervy 11-run win over Pakistan in the third ODI. Tanzid Hasan Tamim's maiden ODI ton led Bangladesh's efforts with the bat before their pacers derailed Pakistan's chase early. Salman Agha led Pakistan's counterattack with a century of his own but it was eventually Bangladesh that came out trumps after a tense finish.

Asked to bat first, the Bangladeshi openers laid a solid foundation with a century stand. Tanzid made his intentions clear early - striking Haris Rauf for a four and a six in the second over. While the Powerplay was dotted with boundaries, Pakistan managed to keep the batters in check despite there being little help for the seamers. They burnt a review early, however, in their quest for a breakthrough.

It looked like Bangladesh had switched gears right after the fielding restrictions eased as the 11th and 12th over yielded 11 and 15 runs respectively. But the tempo didn't sustain as Bangladesh settled into knocking it around against the spinners while finding the fence occasionally.

Tanzid notched up his fifty off just 47 balls in the 16th over. He then struck a six and a four in the two following overs, signalling his hunger for a bigger score. The 105-run stand finally ended in the 19th over when Shaheen Afridi bowled Saif Hassan. Bangladesh continued along untroubled though as another 53-run stand ensued between Tanzid and Najmul Hossain Shanto.

Even after losing Shanto, who was trapped LBW by Rauf, Bangladesh were well placed at 160/2 after 30 overs. Tanzid reached his maiden ODI ton in style after skipping down the track and lofting Salman Agha over long-off in the 33rd over.

A total in excess of 300 looked more than realistic but the acceleration never arrived for Bangladesh. With the wearing ball beginning to grip, the Pakistani spinners managed to tie the batters down. Tanzid fell to Abrar Ahmed in the 37th and the pair of Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy struggled to lift the tempo. They didn't give in though even as the boundaries dried up. Hard running between the wickets coupled with the odd loose delivery being dispatched to the fence kept Bangladesh ticking.

The 68-run stand ended with Das holing out in the 47th over and Rishad Hossain fell off the very next delivery. Hridoy struck a couple of crucial boundaries in the 48th over and with Afif Hossain, took Bangladesh to 290/5 while remaining unbeaten on 48.

Pakistan's pursuit started off on the wrong foot as they lost three wickets in the first three overs. Sahibzada Farhan was the first to depart, taken aback by a bit of extra bounce from Taskin Ahmed and edging behind. Maaz Sadaqat got off the mark with a six but fell in similar fashion, edging behind after being rushed by the pace and bounce of Nahid Rana. Taskin then bowled Mohammed Rizwan with an in-dipper, leaving Pakistan reeling at 17/3.

Debutant Ghazi Ghori showed no signs of nerves though as he kicked off his ODI career with a six and a four off Nahid Rana. Abdul Samad too got underway with twin boundaries in the following over. The duo shared a 50-run stand to re-stabilize Pakistan's innings, but it was a partnership fraught with peril as both batters were nearly run-out several times.

The stand ended with Ghori chopping-on off Nahid Rana in the 14th over. Samad joined him in the dugout three overs later after being nicked off by Mustafizur Rahman. With Pakistan's hopes looking bleak at 82/5, Salman Agha stepped up and became the fulcrum of his team's revival. A 79-run association with Saad Masood was the first of three defining partnerships. Once Masood fell, a 48-run stand ensued between Salman and Faheem Ashraf.

Salman kept the asking rate in check with timely strikes while his partners played second fiddle. He raised his fifty with a six off Rishad in the 36th over and remained unfazed even as Pakistan were down 209/7 following Ashraf's dismissal in the 40th over.

Like his fifty, Salman reached his century, his third in ODIs, with a six in the 44th over. The equation came down to Pakistan needing 45 runs off the last five overs. While Bangladesh still held the advantage, they were guilty of several lapses in the field under mounting pressure.

Salman perished in the 48th over, holing out to a slower delivery from Taskin Ahmed. 28 runs were required off the last two overs when Shaheen struck Mustafizur for two sixes. The bowler was then dealt a painful blow after being struck on the left knee. Despite going down and barely being able to stand at one stage, Mustafizur recovered and rather heroically picked up a wicket off his last ball.

14 runs were then needed off the final over bowled by Rishad. The game could've ended when Shaheen mistimed a slog-sweep off the second ball, sending the ball spiralling straight up. Instead, Rishad couldn't even lay a finger running backwards. There was more drama to come after a couple of runs and a dot later.

With 12 needed off two, Shaheen walked across attempting another slog-sweep and seemingly missed. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena signalled wide only for Bangladesh to raise an animated protest stating it had made contact with the batter. They ended up opting for a review, presumably for caught-behind, before UltraEdge returned with a spike next to bat. Dharmasena was forced to reverse his decision of wide despite Shaheen remaining not-out as the ball bounced after making contact. The game ended with Shaheen being 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.