Bangladesh hold nerve to defeat Pakistan in thrilling ODI series
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Tanzid Hasan maiden ODI century helps Bangladesh to series victory
While we are less than four months into 2026, this year has already provided incredible entertainment in the white-ball version of the game, and we have yet to enter the eagerly anticipated Season 19 of the Indian Premier League.
In the second week after the 2026 T20 World Cup, we were treated to a thrilling three-match ODI series between Bangladesh and Pakistan, in which the Tigers emerged with a stunning 2-1 series victory after winning the third and deciding match at the Sher-E-Bangla Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat first on a decent pitch in Dhaka, Bangladesh got off to a dream start, with their opening pair of Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan putting on a solid 105-run partnership in 18.1 overs.
The former was eventually clean-bowled by Shaheen Afridi, but Hasan went on to anchor the Tigers’ innings, scoring a run-a-ball 107, including six 4s and seven 6s. He received good support from the top order of Najmul Hossain Shanto (27), Litton Das (41) and Tawhid Hridoy (48*).
Bangladesh eventually completed their 50 overs with a defendable total of 290/5, and took the advantage in the match early in the second innings, with the Shaheens’ opening pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat both dismissed with just 12 runs on the board.
Further wickets tumbled for Pakistan through the first 15 overs until Salman Ali Agha strode to the crease and delivered an excellent knock of 106 off just 98 deliveries, which brought his side firmly back into the contest heading into the final 10 overs.
Unfortunately, after he was sent back to the pavilion in the 48th over, with him went Pakistan’s realistic hopes of winning the match. Afridi blasted a quick-fire 37 off 38 balls at number nine, but it proved too little too late, as his side eventually came up 11 runs short of victory.
Pakistan players set to feature in The Hundred 2026
While Pakistan’s next official fixture is their three-match Test series against England in August, some of the Shaheens’ players are expected to be in action before that, having been drafted into teams for the 2026 edition of The Hundred, which gets underway in July.
Given that franchises in England’s premier T20 league share ownership of teams in the IPL, there was plenty of speculation around whether the Green Shirts’ players would be signed for this year’s tournament due to the ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan.
However, at the first-ever The Hundred auction, Abrar Ahmed was handed a contract worth £190,000 (approximately ₹2.34 crore) by the Sunrisers Leeds, a side owned by Sun Group - the same owners of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Ahmed was the highest-paid of four Pakistani players who were eventually snapped up at the auction. Controversial spinner Usman Tariq, as well as Shahdab Khan, Haris Rauf and Saim Ayub are also set to feature in the tournament later this year.
