DHAKA: Both Pakistan and Bangladesh will look to give their best when they clash in the third One-day International in Dhaka on Sunday.

The first two matches of the series — played at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium — proved lop-sided with Bangladesh winning the first by eight wickets and the tourists bagging a huge 128-run win in the second game which was affected by rain.

The series for both the teams is being labelled as the launch of the 2027 ODI World Cup that will be staged jointly by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October-November.

Bangladesh finished a poor eighth — with just two wins nine matches — of the 10-team 2023 World Cup staged in India, Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals after bagging four wins in their nine outings to earn the fifth spot. Both the nations, therefore, must be looking to lift their game for next year’s showpiece.

Though Pakistan comfortably won the second match of the Bangladesh series on Friday, the Green-shirts are expected to produce a better show with the bat.

After being put in to bat first on Friday, Pakistan got off to a strong start with openers Maaz Sadaqat (75) and Sahibzada Farhan (31) giving their team a solid 103-run start in 13 overs.

However, Pakistan then experienced a brief batting collapse descending to 121-3 in the 20th over. Though Salman Ali Agha (64) and Mohammad Rizwan (44) stabilised the innings with a crucial 109-run partnership for the fourth wicket to steer Pakistan to a solid 231-3 in the 39th over, another late collapse led to the dismissal of the touring team for 274 in 47.3 overs — the last seven wickets lost for the addition of just 43 runs.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, speaking after Friday’s match, stressed the team must address the issue of losing wickets in clusters.

“Losing back-to-back wickets after a good opening stand is something we need to improve as a team,” the skipper said.

INJURED HUSSAIN OUT FOR THREE MONTHS

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday confirmed that national team all-rounder Hussain Talat has suffered a left shoulder joint dislocation, which will keep him out of action for around 12 to 14 weeks.

The incident occurred during the second ODI of the ongoing series in Dhaka, when Hussain ran to stop a backfoot punch by Bangladesh batter Litton Das off fast bowler Mohammad Wasim Jr from reaching the deep cover boundary and crashed into the advertising hoarding during the effort.

“Hussain Talat sustained a left shoulder joint dislocation while fielding during the second ODI against Bangladesh,” the PCB said in a statement.

“He received immediate medical attention on the field and was later transferred to a hospital for specialised treatment, where he underwent a successful closed reduction procedure. He remained stable and has since been discharged.

“After an initial period of rest, Hussain will report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to begin his phased rehabilitation, with an estimated return to play of 12-14 weeks,” the statement added.

For Bangladesh, the series is equally important and Mehidy Hasan Miraz-led side will definitely try their best to emulate the show they produced in the opening match of the series when they dismissed the tourists for a paltry 114 courtesy rookie pacer Nahid Rana’s career-best show 5-24.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2026