BAN vs PAK 3rd ODI Match Preview: All Eyes on Maaz Sadaqat After His Match-Winning All-Round Show

All attention is on Maaz Sadaqat, as this final game suddenly seems to mean more than just one innings. Pakistan came to Dhaka with a changed one-day team, were all out for 114 in the first match, and then discovered a player who could win them the match in Sadaqat – just when the series looked as though it would go to Bangladesh.

So the third ODI between Bangladesh and Pakistan, on Sunday, March 15th, brings a clear question in cricket: will Bangladesh get the game back on their side, or will Sadaqat’s rate of play lead to another strong start for Pakistan? The game begins at 2:15 PM local time at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, with the three-match series tied at one win each.

The weather could play a part again. Dhaka is predicted to have hot afternoons and storms around the time of evening, and this is important because the second ODI was stopped by lightning and hail before the target was changed using the DLS method.

Sadaqat enters the final match as the highest run-scorer in the series, with 93 runs, and he has also taken three wickets, with his left-arm spin causing problems for Bangladesh in the second ODI. For a 20-year-old player who can both bat and bowl, and is only in his first ODI series, that is a remarkable thing to do.

However, Bangladesh still have the clearest idea of how to win at Mirpur. Nahid Rana’s five wickets for 24 runs destroyed Pakistan in the first ODI, Tanzid Hasan Tamim’s 67 not out made the chase fast, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz has supported this with five wickets in the first two matches.

Why Maaz Sadaqat has become the key player

The second ODI did not only give Pakistan a win; it gave them a plan. Sadaqat’s 75 runs from 46 balls – including six fours and five sixes – turned a careful attempt to rebuild into a batting plan with a lot of hope, and his fifty in 31 balls meant Bangladesh were chasing the game before they had even got into it.

What made that innings special was how quickly he changed the length of his shots. He hit boundaries off Mustafizur Rahman in the second over, took on Taskin Ahmed with confidence, and then got 22 runs off Nahid Rana’s ninth over, after Bangladesh had brought their best bowler on to end the partnership. Pakistan were 85 for no loss after the powerplay, and 103 for 0 by the end of the 13th over; from then on, even a collapse would still have left them with enough runs.

Then came the second part. Bangladesh restarted a changed chase of 243 in 32 overs, and needed someone from Pakistan, apart from the fast bowlers, to make an impact – and Sadaqat did that, too, with 3 for 23 from five overs. Litton Das was his first important wicket, and once that resistance in the middle order had been broken, Bangladesh’s chase lost its shape.

That’s why the preview for the BAN vs PAK 3rd ODI starts with him. Pakistan do not need him to get another 75 or take another three wickets; they need him to continue to control the first part of the game, because once he does that, Shaheen Afridi’s bowling attack can bowl with a score behind them, instead of worry next to them. This is what can be learned from how both matches have turned around in the first 10 to 15 overs.

Bangladesh’s answer still begins with Nahid Rana and Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Bangladesh’s best cricket in this series has come when they have made Pakistan feel hurried. Rana’s new-ball spell in the first match was not only about speed; it was about bounce, a hard length, and repeating the right area on a surface he read quickly – which he later said was more important than just trying to bowl fast.

He removed Sahibzada Farhan, Shamyl Hussain, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha in the first ODI, becoming the first Bangladesh fast bowler to take the first five wickets in an ODI innings. Pakistan went from a steady start to 69 for 5, and that collapse set the whole match.

Bangladesh do not need a new plan for Sadaqat. They need the better version of the old one. In the first match, Rana bounced him out for 18 after forcing a top edge; in the second ODI, Mehidy removed him for 75 when Sadaqat tried to scoop and only managed a catch to the wicketkeeper. This suggests Bangladesh’s best way forward is a two-stage squeeze: a hard length first, and then off-spin into the shot map once he starts moving across.

Mehidy’s value in this final match is greater than his bowling numbers. He broke Pakistan’s opening partnership in the second ODI, was involved in the turning point around Salman Agha’s strange run-out, and remains Bangladesh’s most reliable controller of the middle overs. In the two games he has already taken five wickets, and this makes him the captain most likely to slow the game down if Pakistan threaten another fast start.

Mirpur has not behaved like a sleepy spin track

What a place is thought to be can trap previews, and Mirpur has already done that in this series. Rather than the usual slow, low, spin-led cricket from the very first ball, the pitch has given the seamers something – and also allowed batters to play their shots, provided they are both brave and in good shape.

Bangladesh have opted to field first in both games, and the early overs have, time and again, decided how things would go. Pakistan were all out for 114 in the first match, but in the second ODI, they got to 85 without loss in the Powerplay on another green pitch, and ended up at 274. The difference between the two shows the pitch isn’t just there; it favours the team that understands it quickest.

The weather makes this even more obvious. Storms are predicted for around evening, and a game in Dhaka that’s stopped and started a lot will very quickly turn into a game about par scores, instead of a normal, long, 50-over ODI. This makes early wickets, mistakes in the field, and even one good over, much more important than they would be in a dry, full 50-over game.

Pakistan’s recovery is proper, but isn’t yet total.

Pakistan’s win in the second ODI was convincing, but it didn’t put right every issue. The top order at last worked as it should, Sadaqat really went for it, and Salman Agha and Rizwan put on 109 for the fourth wicket; however, Pakistan still lost their last seven wickets for 43, and were all out in 47.3 overs when they’d looked as if they’d be making a lot more.

That late fall in wickets is important because Bangladesh’s bowling still has some bite, even on off days. Mehidy and Rishad Hossain brought Pakistan back into reach, and if Rana bowls well in his first spell again, Pakistan’s lower-middle order could be in trouble much sooner than it was on Friday.

Pakistan’s bowling, however, looked better in the second ODI after Haris Rauf replaced Abrar Ahmed. Haris took 3 for 26, Shaheen Afridi got a wicket in his opening spell, and Pakistan suddenly had more pace to use on a pitch that didn’t really need a specialist spinner from the start.

The selection issue is Hussain Talat. Pakistan’s all-rounder was taken to hospital after hurting his shoulder while fielding in the second ODI, and the latest news said the seriousness of the injury wouldn’t be known until they’d had more medical tests. Unless Pakistan get the all-clear at the last minute, that’s the main question mark over their team before the toss.

Bangladesh’s batting still decides if this will be a real contest, or a chase from behind.

Bangladesh’s batting has made the two most different impressions of the series so far. In the first match they got 115 for 2 in 15.1 overs, with Tanzid getting 67 not out and Shanto adding 27 in an 82-run partnership. In the second ODI they went to 15 for 3, putting the changed chase into emergency mode almost at once.

That is why Shaheen’s first spell could be as important as Sadaqat’s first 30 balls. Shaheen got Tanzid out for 1 and Shanto for 0 in the second ODI, and Bangladesh never really got over that start, though Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy did try to hit back after the rain break.

Bangladesh did make one clever team change before the series, by moving Litton Das back to No. 5, with coach Phil Simmons saying this would make the middle order stronger, and ease the burden of keeping wicket for 50 overs before opening. That change looks more sensible now, because Litton’s 41 in the second ODI was Bangladesh’s best attempt at rebuilding when under pressure.

The issue is that Bangladesh can’t keep asking the middle order to get them out of the hole of 15 for 3. Saif Hassan, Tanzid and Najmul Hossain Shanto don’t need to be in charge of the Powerplay in the final game, but they do need to get through it with more sense than they showed in game two. If Bangladesh can get to 45 for 1 instead of 15 for 3 by the 10th over, the whole game begins to look different. That is a thought based on how quickly both ODIs have changed once the top order has gone.

Team news and what selections are likely to be, before the final match.

Bangladesh are the easier team to read. The same XI has been used by them in both One Day Internationals, and this lineup still gives a good balance – three fast bowlers, Mehidy’s off-spin, Rishad’s leg-spin and enough batting to cope with losing an early wicket. There isn’t anything from the second ODI loss which makes a quick alteration necessary.

Pakistan have one definite success in tactics to develop, and one health issue that’s not been solved. Haris Rauf being in the team worked, so it would be surprising if Pakistan now moved away from that pace-based plan; the only real question is if Talat is well enough to stay in the team, or if Pakistan go with Saad Masood to provide more batting, or Abrar again for a different set of bowling options. The last of that comes from the players available, and the mixes Pakistan have already used in the first two ODIs.

Practically, Bangladesh are hoping for things to stay as they are, and Pakistan want to be sure of what they’re doing. Bangladesh will have faith in Rana, Mehidy and Tanzid to get back the rhythm of the opening batsmen; Pakistan will have faith in Sadaqat, Rizwan, Agha and their fast bowlers to show the same energy as the second ODI, but without the batting falling apart towards the end of the innings.

What will determine the BAN vs PAK 3rd ODI

This deciding match isn’t truly about which side has shown the highest point. Both have. Bangladesh gave the most forceful bowling in the series in the first game, and Pakistan gave the most full all-round response in the second game. The real question is which team can stop being at both ends of the scale for one evening.

If Sadaqat gets Pakistan another quick 35 or 40, Bangladesh’s bowlers will be using the rest of the innings defending the advantage instead of building pressure. If Rana gets him inside the first ten overs, Pakistan’s middle order will be pulled back into the part of the game where Miraz, Rishad and Mustafizur can squeeze and take wickets.

I’m leaning a little towards Pakistan, mainly because they have the player in best form in the series now, the sharper speed in the bowling from the second ODI, and a clear plan with batting first, or chasing later if rain happens. But it’s only a small advantage, as Bangladesh’s best cricket in this series has already shown that Pakistan’s top batting can still be hurried, bounced and broken apart in Mirpur.

Key Points