PAK vs BAN | Pakistan veer off-course in seach for new pastures as Bangladesh eye historic whitewash

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Bangladesh have already scripted history by winning their maiden T20I series against Pakistan but will look to go one better in Mirpur on Thursday

Nearly a year on from a maiden and historic 2-0 Test clean-sweep in Pakistan, Bangladesh now stand on the verge of replicating the feat in the shortest format. Having already sealed the three-match series with two stupendous bowling performances, Mirpur on Thursday will witness a battle for pride.

Merely seven weeks ago, Bangladesh were left questioning their roadmap as a cricketing nation after being thrashed 3-0 at the hands of Pakistan with a World Cup slated for February 2026. Their rivals, on the other hand, were quick to herald the series as the dawn of a new era, free from fearful restraints of the past and bathed in aggressive, almost reckless glory. However, that same recklessness seems to have caught up with the former world champions, who now stand staring at a possible whitewash themselves having never lost a series to the Tigers before.

Pakistan have only themselves to blame for the results, without taking anything away from Bangladesh's performances. The hosts batted with a sense of entitlement in the opener and quickly paid the price with an embarrassing collapse, prompting skipper Salman Agha Ali to promise taking conditions into consideration the next time around. Yet, more of the same followed in the second T20I, as a series of loose shots on a difficult track with the new ball swinging and nipping around saw them succumb to 15/5 while chasing a meagre 134. Even then, they nearly stole a victory courtesy of Faheem Ashraf's explosive half-century lower down the order -- a confirmation that their fearless approach when mixed with game awareness can produce unimaginable success.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, have stuck to their basics and played with the confidence of a home team that takes pride in their unique low-scoring habitat. The batters have been clinical in stitching together substantial scores and partnership, making mid-innings adjustments to the tempo to keep up with the game's demands. However, it is the bowlers that have stolen the show, with the premier pace quartet of Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, and Tanzim Hasan all scalping three wickets each while boasting a combined economy rate of 4.68. Can they lead Bangladesh to a historic whitewash come Thursday?

Form Guide

Bangladesh have been red-hot in T20Is off late, registering a maiden series win against Sri Lanka earlier this month before winning the first two games of the ongoing series against Pakistan to stitch together a four-match winning-streak.

Pakistan's lsat five T20Is have all come against Bangladesh, with the first three forming part of a clean-sweep at home followed by back-to-back losses in Mirpur. Previous to that, the Men in Green had lost series in South Africa and New Zealand last year by margins of 0-2 and 1-4 respectively.

BAN: L W W W W

PAK: W W W L L

BAN vs PAK Head-to-Head in T20s

Ahead of the ongoing series, Bangladesh had managed just three victories against Pakistan in 22 attempts, the latest of which was an Asian Games affair played between two representative sides. However, following two victories in four days, a win in the third T20I will see them level the scoreline in Bangladesh to five each.

BAN 5 - 19 PAK

Pitch and Weather

Pakistan's head coach Mike Hesson declared the surface in Mirpur as unfit for international cricket standards after the first T20I where Pakistan were bowled out for 110. The second game produced an equally overwhelming first innings score of 133, this time from Bangladesh, bookending a trend of low scores in night games at the venue. The deck is known to be slow and keep low while offering plenty of grip to the spinners as well as pacers capable of taking pace off the ball, traits that are unlikely to change overnight. Dew has made a showing in both encounters so far too, easing Bangladesh's chase in the opener and nearly helping Faheem Ashraf pull off a daring heist in the latest encounter, so expect the captain winning the toss to bowl first on Thursday.

There is substantial rain forecast both before the encounter begins and towards its fag end, while clouds are expected to dominate the night skies throughout proceedings. The temperature should hover around the 30 degrees Celsius mark with humidity levels over 80%, thus promising a sultry and possibly rain-marred affair.

Team News

Bangladesh have off-late tended to juggle amongst both opening batters and opening bowlers. They roped in Mohammad Naim Sheikh for Tanzid Hasan in the previous encounter, despite the latter's series-winning effort in Sri Lanka a week ago, and might look to give the tall southpaw another go after an extended run for his competitor. Similarly, Shoriful Islam replaced Taskin Ahmed on Tuesday and matched the veteran's three-wicket tally from the first game, making it a toss-up between the two for the third T20I. The possibility of playing both also remains, at the cost of dropping the in-form Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Lastly, the Tigers could also give ODI skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz a game, likely in lieu of the out-of-sorts Shamim Hossain.

Pakistan made just one change in the second T20I, opting for the extra pacer by handing Ahmed Daniyal a maiden cap and dropping Abrar Ahmed, but might revert to the leg-spinner given the conditions despite the debutant's impressive two-wicket showing.

Bangladesh Probable XI: Parvez Hossain Emon, Naim Sheikh, Litton Das (c/ wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan, Shoriful Islam/ Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman

Pakistan Probable XI: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Abbas Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed