Mohammad Haris scored his first international century in style to help Pakistan complete a 3-0 series win over Bangladesh with a seven-wicket victory in the third and final T20 match in Lahore on Sunday.
Playing his 17th T20 international, Haris hit a powerful 107 runs off just 46 balls, including seven sixes and eight fours. Pakistan successfully chased down a tough target of 197 runs in only 17.2 overs. This was Pakistan’s first T20 series win at home in more than three years.
Pakistan had already won the first two games at the same venue by 37 and 57 runs, securing the series early.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha was thrilled with the result. “It’s a big win,” he said. “I’m really happy with how the team played. We stuck to our game plan and performed well in all three matches.”
On the other side, Bangladesh captain Litton Das expressed his disappointment. “We batted well today, but our bowling and fielding let us down,” he said. “Losing the series 3-0 is tough.”
Bangladesh had put up a strong total of 196-6, thanks to Parvez Hossain, who hit 66 runs from 34 balls with four sixes and seven fours.
Pakistan had a shaky start, losing Sahibzada Farhan for just one run in the first over. But Haris stayed strong, building a 92-run partnership with Saim Ayub and finishing the match with an unbeaten 60-run stand with Salman Agha, who remained not out on 15.
Ayub entertained the crowd by scoring 45 runs from 29 balls, hitting four sixes and two fours. Hasan Nawaz also played a quick innings, making 26 runs off just 13 balls. Their powerful batting thrilled almost 30,000 fans at Gaddafi Stadium.
Earlier in the match, Bangladesh openers Parvez and Tanzid Hasan gave their team a strong start with a 110-run partnership after being asked to bat first. This opening stand helped Bangladesh achieve their highest T20 score against Pakistan, beating their previous best of 175-6 made in 2012 at Pallekele.
Towhid Hridoy contributed with 25 runs from 18 balls, including one six and two fours. He built a 49-run partnership with Litton Das, who scored 22 runs.
For Pakistan, fast bowlers Abbas Afridi and Hasan Ali were the most successful, each taking two wickets. Abbas gave away 26 runs, while Hasan conceded 38.
