MIRPUR: Pakistan won the toss and opted to field first against Bangladesh in the third and final One-Day International of the three-match series on Sunday, with the contest evenly poised at 1-1.
At the toss, Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi confirmed that Shamyl Hussain and Hussain Talat were unavailable for the match due to injuries.
Talat picked up a shoulder injury during the second ODI while attempting to stop a boundary. He dived to intercept a backfoot punch from Litton Das off the bowling of Mohammad Wasim Jr. near the deep cover region but collided with the advertising boards during the effort. Meanwhile, Shamyl has been ruled out after suffering a neck strain, according to the team’s spokesperson.
Two players — Ghazi Ghori and Saad Masood — are making their debut for Pakistan in the series decider.
Pakistan levelled the series with a commanding 128-run victory in the rain-shortened second ODI played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Friday. Bangladesh were set a revised target of 243 runs in 32 overs instead of the original 275 in 50 overs, but the hosts were bowled out for 114 in 23.3 overs.
In contrast, Bangladesh dominated the opening match of the series, registering an eight-wicket win. Chasing a modest target of 115 runs, the hosts comfortably reached the total in 15.1 overs with the loss of just two wickets, thanks to a strong display by their top-order batters.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Abdul Samad, Saad Masood, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Bangladesh: Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das, Afif Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana.
