BAN vs PAK 2025/26, BAN vs PAK 3rd ODI Match Preview – Not 114, the other one

Big picture: Will we get a proper contest this time?

To its credit, the Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch hasn’t been full of surprises like it has been often in the past. There is proper bounce that the fast bowlers have exploited when they have bent their backs. The spinners haven’t found excessive spin, which has helped batters willing to play their shots.

The question for both teams is the same: which batting unit will show up on Sunday? The ones that added up to 114 (Pakistan in the first ODI and Bangladesh in the second) or the other ones?

Form guide

Bangladesh LWWLW (Last five completed ODIs, most recent first
Pakistan WLWWW

In the spotlight: Rishad Hossain and Maaz Sadaqat

The stocks of legspinner Rishad Hossain rode further after another solid performance in the second ODI. Rishad took three wickets during Pakistan’s collapse, as he mixed his legspin and the googly, frequent changes of pace thrown in. But his batting hasn’t quite blossomed as expected since his breakout knock against Sri Lanka two years ago.

In the second ODI of his career, Maaz Sadaqat played a masterful 75 and then took three wickets to power Pakistan to the big win. He displayed a whole range of shots, the best being the belts down the ground and the flicks to deep square-leg against pace. Sadaqat’s bowling is also promising, as he often gets the ball to dip into the right-hand batters, before spinning away or zipping in.

Team news: Bangladesh could make a batting switch

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Saif Hassan/Soumya Sarkar, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Towhid Hridoy, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 5 Litton Das (wk), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Nahid Rana, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pakistan will likely have to replace the injured Hussain Talat, with newcomer Ghazi Ghori stepping up in his place.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Maaz Sadaqat, 3 Shamyl Hussain, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Salman Agha, 6 Abdus Salam, 7 Ghazi Ghori, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), 10 Mohammad Wasim, 11 Haris Rauf

Pitch and conditions: Will they break the glass?

After going down by a big margin, will Bangladesh bring out another raging turner at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, or will they stick to the flat, bouncy tracks from the two ODIs so far? Meanwhile, there’s forecast of another thunderstorm like in the second game.

Stats and trivia

Quotes

“Maaz Sadaqat is the sort of batsman, if he can bat for 10 or 12 overs, he can take the game away from any opposition.”
Salman Agha is impressed by the newcomer