Pakistan won the face saving third T20I against Bangladesh but lost the series 1-2. Earlier, Bangladesh create history by winning the T20I series against Pakistan first time ever.
Bangladesh won the first game of the series by seven wickets after chasing down a mere total of 111 and after winning the second T20I took an unassailable 2-0 lead with the final match. The third game won by the green shirts by 79 runs.
This was Bangladesh’s first T20I series win over Pakistan in four tries. For the record,
Bangladesh have won a series against Pakistan. But it was a one-off match in 2015, which the hosts won by seven wickets in Mirpur.
Last month, Pakistan had whitewashed Bangladesh in a three-match home T20I series at the Gaddafi Stadium. But Bengal Tigers take revenge immediately by winning the home T20 series. Much like the first T20 game, in the second match, green shirts found them in precarious 30-6 with five having missed out in similar fashion in the previous outing too. In 10th over with all six batters being out for single digits.
Pakistan couldn’t have asked for a worse start to their 134-run chase as they slumped to 15 for 5 and their lowest score after losing their first five wickets. The crisis was deepened when the seventh wicket fell at 47 in the 12th over.
Pakistan’s young players failed to capitalise the opportunity, Saim Ayub (28 runs), Mohammad Haris (9), Hasan Nawaz (33), Muhammad Nawaz (30), Khushdil Shah (30), all disappointed the new coach.
Even skipper Agha Salman also failed to lead from the front as he managed only 24 runs in the series, averaging 12.
Opener Sahibzada Farhan avail the chance with quickfire 63 runs including five sixes and six fours in the only game he played.
Pakistan’s hopes of building a solid future batting lineup faced a major setback as the young brigade faltered on the bowling-friendly tracks of Bangladesh. Despite entering the series with confidence, the inexperienced batsmen failed to adapt to slow, turning pitches that demanded patience and technique.
The new crop of Pakistani batters, expected to fill the shoes of seasoned veterans, struggled to handle the sharp spin and variable bounce. Frequent collapses highlighted technical flaws, lack of temperament, and poor shot selection. While a few managed to get starts, none could convert them into significant scores, leaving Pakistan heavily reliant on its bowlers and senior players.
Cricket experts believe the failure reflects a deeper issue i.e. lack of exposure to challenging sub-continental conditions outside home. Domestic cricket’s flat tracks and aggressive T20 mindset have left players ill-equipped for Tests and ODIs abroad.
Pakistan’s batting lineup has often been a tale of two extremes—dominant on home soil yet faltering overseas, particularly on seaming conditions.
At home, where pitches traditionally favour spin and offer minimal lateral movement, Pakistani batsmen have thrived, posting impressive averages and mammoth partnerships. Batsmen scored on placid pitches in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.
But the story changes dramatically when Pakistan tours countries like England, New Zealand,South Africa, or Australia and now even on Bangladesh pitches.
On pitches that assist seam and swing, the batting order often crumbles. The main challenge lies in the technical adaptability required to handle the moving ball under overcast conditions or on hard, bouncy surfaces. Frequent early collapses have been a recurring theme in Test and ODI series abroad.
This performance gap at home and abroad is not coincidental. Domestic bowls are dominated by spin, offering minimal exposure to deliveries that move at pace. Seaming tracks abroad require advanced technique—precise footwork, sharper bat pad judgment, and mental grit under swinging conditions. Without rigorous overseas-specific preparation, collapses—especially early in innings—are inevitable.
Experts attribute this to a lack of exposure to quality seam bowling in domestic cricket and limited preparation time before overseas tours. While spin dominates Pakistan’s first-class structure, opportunities to face the Dukes or Kookaburra ball in challenging conditions are rare.
As a result, when confronted with movement off the seam and through the air, batsmen often struggle with footwork and shot selection, leading to dismissals in the slips and gully.
Pakistan cricket is facing a worrying trend as young batsmen failing to fill the shoes of seasoned veterans and struggling on bowling-friendly pitches overseas. While domestic circuits and home conditions offer spin-friendly tracks with low bounce, foreign tours expose technical flaws.One major reason is limited exposure. Pakistan’s domestic structure heavily favours batting on flat pitches, where stroke-making is easy and bowlers rarely generate sustained lateral movement. Youngsters grow accustomed to high scores without developing the defensive skills essential in challenging conditions. Consequently, when faced with the moving ball, indecisive footwork and poor shot selection lead to frequent collapses.
To address this, experts urge the PCB to revamp domestic cricket, create seaming tracks, and organise regular exposure tours. Without these measures, Pakistan’s batting woes abroad will persist, leaving a vacuum hard to fill.
Pakistan’s batting woes continued as reckless shot selection and mindless aggression led to yet another collapse. Instead of applying themselves on a challenging pitch, the batsmen opted for rash strokes, gifting wickets to the opposition without resistance.
Several players fell attempting unnecessary big hits early in their innings, ignoring the need to settle down. Cricket analysts criticised the lack of game awareness, calling it a “self-inflicted disaster.” In conditions demanding patience and smart rotation of strike, Pakistan’s approach was the complete opposite—resulting in quick dismissals and mounting pressure on the lower order.
Experts believe this trend stems from an overemphasis on T20-style aggression, which doesn’t translate well in longer formats. Until Pakistan’s batsmen learn to balance attack with responsibility, collapses like these will remain a recurring nightmare for the team. Pakistan’s emerging batsmen have struggled to fill veteran roles, especially on foreign, bowling- friendly surfaces. While domestic tracks offer forgiveness, overseas seaming conditions expose technical weaknesses and impatience.
Pakistan’s domestic setup offers almost no seam-friendly preparation. Young batsmen scored lot of runs at home with multiple centuries, have yet to face top-tier pace overseas. This sharp contrast underscores a gap in technique and temperament.
To bridge this gap, former players have urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to organize longer conditioning camps abroad and schedule more ‘A’ team tours in seam-friendly nations.
Only by facing quality pace in difficult environments can the new generation learn to cope with conditions that have long haunted Pakistani batsmen. Until then, Pakistan’s batting success may remain largely confined to home comforts rather than global consistency.
Experts urge the PCB to schedule longer acclimation camps in red ball nations, and send ‘A’ squads on extended tours to adversarial conditions. Until Pakistani batsmen consistently face and conquer the moving ball abroad, their overseas records will continue to lag behind the heaps of runs produced at home.
If Pakistan aims to compete internationally, the grooming of young batsmen for tough conditions like Bangladesh is no longer optional—it’s a necessity.
Bangladesh Jakir Ali was the top scorer of the T20I series with 71 runs in the series, averaging 35.50 including one fifty. For Pakistan, Sahibzada Farhan scored most 63 runs despite he played only last match.
On the bowling side, Pakistan young fast bowler Salman Mirza has taken most seven wickets with the average of 8.42 while Tasken Ahmed of Bangladesh took six wickets.
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