Bangladesh vs. Pakistan, 3rd ODI: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

Bangladesh wrapped up a series victory over Pakistan with a seven-wicket win on Sunday. The third and final one-day international between the two teams might be a dead rubber, but for Bangladesh, this will be yet another opportunity to prove their World Cup exploits were no fluke.

Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka

Date: Wednesday, 23 April, 2015

Time: 2:30 p.m. local, 9:30 a.m. BST

Live on: PTV, Ten Sports (Pakistan), Gazi TV (Bangladesh), Willow TV (USA), Star Sports (India), SuperSport (South Africa).

Weather: World Weather Online suggests we might be in for rain with a chance a thunder later on.

Overview

Bangladesh went from not having won an ODI against Pakistan for 16 years to winning an ODI series against them for the first time in a matter of days. It was an immense moment, and one that will be remembered for a long time to come.

However, it’s crucial that Bangladesh now use this foundation, one which was laid during the recently concluded World Cup, to push on.

Tamim Iqbal scored an unbeaten century to help guide the team home and was encouraged by the way the team has improved, particularly that they did not throw away a dominant position. He was quoted by ESPNCricinfo as saying:

"

We were close in the last few matches as a team. This is an important series for us after the World Cup performance. I will rate it equally [with other defeats] because if you see their bowling attack, they can match the best in the world. They may be a little inexperienced with regards to the batting, but the best thing is that we managed to win.

Somehow in the past we often found a way to lose but to win against them is a different feeling. So I will equally rate them all. We just played a good World Cup and if we weren't able to play well here, then there would have been doubts with regards to our performance.

"

A loss in the third and final ODI would by no means be a disaster for Bangladesh, but the way in which they play will be crucial. They have come so far since their stellar effort during the World Cup that it would be a shame to lose this momentum now. The one-day series will be followed by one T20 and two Tests against Pakistan, but in the long term, an important series against South Africa awaits.

For Pakistan, they need to find a way to bounce back and get out of their slump. Their bowlers, who were so delightful during the World Cup, have not managed to gather momentum. The batting, too, has been woeful, and Pakistan’s batsmen have played some baffling shots. The final ODI with Bangladesh is crucial to turning the tide before the Test series starts.

Key Players

Bangladesh

Tamim Iqbal has had an astounding series for the hosts, scoring two centuries on the trot at an average strike rate of 98.80. Having a reliable batsman at the top of the order goes a long way when setting and chasing totals. Bangladesh will once again look to Tamim to help them set the foundation from which to build their innings. If he can keep up the pace, the hosts will be on their way to a clean sweep.

Pakistan

Wahab Riaz has been one of the sole positives from the Pakistan bowling line-up. He has taken four wickets in the two games at an average of 23.75—the only Pakistan bowler to average below 56.00. Riaz has his work cut out for him in the third ODI, though, and the rest of Pakistan’s bowlers will need to pull their weight. Riaz can at least provide some support in the middle overs to help build some pressure.

Squads

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Shakib Al Hasan (vice-captain), Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Rony Talukdar, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Abul Hasan, Rubel Hossain and Arafat Sunny.

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Sohail, Sami Aslam, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, Junaid Khan and Zulfiqar Babar.