From the beginning itself, they were the clear favourites to win the Tri-Series. And now, they have emerged as the champions -- beating the hosts in a tricky chase. Pakistan lifted the Tri-Series trophy, winning against New Zealand by five wickets with three balls win in hand on Friday in Christchurch. Pakistan lost only once in this series to New Zealand, but in the final, they kept their nerve strong till the end.  Read: Tri-Series: Bangladesh lose to Pakistan by 7 wickets Pakistan needed to score 164 to win the series. They scored 29 in the opening partnership — a relatively slow start from them. But they were firm against the New Zealand bowling attack.  Babar Azam fell as the first wicket scoring 15 off 14 balls, while Mohammad Rizwan posted 34. Both of them had hit a fifty each while chasing 173 against Bangladesh before the final.  Haider Ali’s 15-ball 31 helped accelerate the scoring when they needed it the most. In the fourth wicket stand, Nawaz and Haider added 56 runs off just 26 balls — this partnership effectively pushed the match Pakistan’s way.  On the sixth wicket, Nawaz and Iftikhar Ahmed added 36 off 20 balls and that finished the match. Iftikhar scored 25 off 14 balls with a winning shot, a six, off Blair Tickner in the third ball of the last over. None of the Pakistani batters scored a fifty or a 40, but they demonstrated a team effort while chasing a big total.  For New Zealand, Michael Bracewell, who was outstanding throughout the event, bagged two wickets in the final, but his effort was not enough for the Blackcaps to avoid a defeat.  Earlier, Pakistan bowled first in this match after winning the toss. New Zealand scored 163 runs for seven wickets with the captain, Kane Williamson, leading the way, hitting 59 off 38 balls. Read: Tri-Series: As Bangladesh suffer another defeat, New Zealand march to final  New Zealand lost Finn Allen, the opener, in the last ball of the first over. Before falling prey to Naseem Shah, he hit three fours and scored 12 off just six balls. Devon Conway, the other opener, also couldn't go big in the final.  For Pakistan, Naseem and Haris Rauf bagged two wickets each. This win will surely boost the confidence of the Asian giant ahead of their T20 World Cup campaign starting this month in Australia.

Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan hit a fifty each and propelled Bangladesh to a challenging total of 173 for six against Pakistan on Thursday. Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Soumya Sarkar opened the innings for Bangladesh.  Soumya scored four off as many balls while Shanto failed one more time to justify his inclusion in the T20 team. He made 12 off 15 balls. After the openers continued on a dismal batting display, Liton Das was firm at one end of the wicket coming to bat at three. Shakib Al Hasan joined him in the third wicket stand.  Despite having a hamstring injury, Liton was batting so well. He scored his fifty off just 31 balls with five fours and one six.  Before falling prey to Mohammad Nawaz for 69 off 42 balls, Liton partnered Shakib in the third wicket stand and they added 88 runs off 55 deliveries — the best partnership Bangladesh got in this Tri- Series. After Liton’s dismissal, Shakib took charge on the Pakistani attack. He fell for 68 off 42 balls with seven fours and three sixes. Eventually, Bangladesh ended up on 173 for six — their highest in this event. Before Thursday’s match, Bangladesh lost three matches in a row. Bangladesh made two changes in this match, replacing Mosaddek Hossain and Ebadot Hossain with Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud.     

Bangladesh posted 137 for 8 wickets against New Zealand in their second match of the ongoing Tri-Series in Christchurch today. Bangladesh made two changes in this match — Mustafizur Rahman and Sabbir Rahman have been overlooked to pave the way for Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan. Bangladesh lost the toss and were sent to bat first. Shanto, who was playing his first match in this event replacing Sabbir Rahman, scored 33 off 29 balls while Nurul Hasan Sohan posted 25 off just 12 balls with two sixes.  Bangladesh lost wickets in regular intervals. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who has been establishing himself as an opener, scored 5 in this match.  Read: Tri-series 3rd T20: Kiwis send Tigers to bat first Afif Hossain posted 24 while Shakib scored 16. The Bangladesh captain, Shakib, made a comeback after the UAE series but his inclusion didn't change the fragile batting approach of Bangladesh. Mosaddek Hossain (2) and Yasir Ali (7) failed to do well this time.  For the hosts, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Micheal Bracewell and Ish Sodhi bagged two wickets. Before this match, both Bangladesh and New Zealand lost their respective first matches to Pakistan.   

The Tigers lost the toss and were sent to bat by the Kiwis today in the third match of the T20I tri-series in Christchurch, New Zealand. This series is the last buildup for the teams ahead of the T20 World Cup which begins in Australia on October 16. Bangladesh made three changes to their XI as they look to rebound in the series. Shakib Al Hasan, regular captain of Bangladesh, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shoriful Islam returned. Sabbir Rahman, Nasum Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman were dropped. New Zealand made one change, bringing in Adam Milne for Blair Tickner. In the first match of the competition, Bangladesh lost to Pakistan by 21 runs. Also, Pakistan beat New Zealand six wickets in the second match. So, the Tigers and the Kiwis are looking for their first points in the series. Read: Will Bangladesh’s brand of T20 cricket work in New Zealand? New Zealand Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (capt), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Adam Milne Bangladesh Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Yasir Ali, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam  

While chasing a target of 168, Bangladesh tumbled for 146 for eight and lost by 21 runs to Pakistan on Friday in the ongoing Tri-Series in New Zealand. Bangladesh didn’t get a good start, but they managed to score 87 for two. And after that, they slipped to 101 for six wickets.  Read: Tri-series: Pakistan post 167 vs Bangladesh Bangladesh were never in a position to win this match in Christchurch. They kept losing wickets on a regular basis and eventually, they endured the familiar result after a dismal batting display.  Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Sabbir Rahman, Bangladesh’s experimental opening pair, added 25 runs off 26 before falling apart. Mehidy scored 10 off 11 before falling prey to Mohammad Wasim Jr.  Sabbir played seven more balls than Mehidy to score 14 runs. The right-handed batters then fall to Haris Rauf. It was a back-of-a-length delivery in the middle and leg. Sabbir tried to push it to the leg side, but played it early and only managed a leading edge. Haris took the catch of his own delivery.  Sabbir once again raised the question about his inclusion in the Bangladesh T20 team. Liton Das and Afif Hossain tried hard. They added 50 runs in the third wicket stand, but after the partnership was broken, Bangladesh lost its way.  Mohammad Nawaz removed Liton and Mosadek from two consecutive deliveries. Nurul Hasan came at number six and posted only 8 off 9 balls.  Yasir Ali remained unbeaten for 42 off 21 deliveries. His cameo included a 20-run attack in the last over bowled by Haris, but that wasn't enough for Bangladesh to avoid a defeat.  Read:Tri-series: Bangladesh opt to bowl vs Pakistan For Pakistan, Wasim Jr bagged three wickets and Nawaz took two.  Earlier, opener Mohammad Rizwan hit an unbeaten 78 to guide Pakistan to a challenging total of 167. Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud conceded 90 runs in eight overs taking only one wicket. In contrast, Taskin Ahmed was outstanding in this match. He grabbed two wickets conceding 25 runs in four overs.  Bangladesh won the toss and sent Pakistan to bat first. Rizwan and Babar Azam had an opening stand of 52 runs before Mehidy Hasan Miraz removed Babar for 22 off 25 balls.  Pakistan’s number three Shan Masood scored 31 off 22 balls. He fell prey to left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed.  While Rizwan was firm at one end of the wicket, Bangladesh were getting success from the other end. They scalped Haider Ali (6), Iftikhar Ahmed (13) and Asif Ali (4) before they got the rhythm in the middle.  Bangladesh will take on New Zealand in their next match on Sunday at 12 pm (Bangladesh time). Before that, Pakistan will take on the hosts on Saturday.