DHAKA, May 20, 2025 (BSS)-Bangladesh vowed to make a strong comeback in the third and final T20 international in a bid to secure the series against hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The third match, which was added later in the series, turned out to be the decider following Bangladesh's stunning two-wicket defeat to the home side in the second game.

Like the first two matches, the series-deciding game will also take place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium tomorrow at 9pm (Bangladesh Time). T-Sports will broadcast the match live.

Bangladesh won the first match by 27 runs, thanks to a record-breaking century by opener Parvez Hossain Emon. But they failed to defend 205 for 5 in the second game as UAE held their nerve in the crunch moments to clinch the game by two wickets with one ball remaining.

Skipper and opener Muhammad Waseem laid the foundation for UAE's first-ever victory against Bangladesh in any format of cricket with a blistering 42-ball 84.

UAE's chase of 206 is the highest by an associate nation against a full-member team in T20Is. The previous highest was 191 by Afghanistan against Zimbabwe in 2015. It is also the first-ever successful chase of a 200-plus target in the UAE in T20Is.

While UAE demonstrated extraordinary skill and composure to win the game, Bangladesh also contributed to their own downfall with some costly mistakes.

The most glaring error came in the penultimate delivery when UAE needed two runs to win from two balls. Fielder Towhid Hridoy was late in throwing the ball as Haider Ali, whose cameo (an unbeaten 15 off six balls) ensured the team's victory, hesitated on the second run. But Hridoy's delay in throwing, despite having the ball in hand, allowed Haider to escape a run-out and secure victory for his side.

Bangladesh's fielding was also inconsistent, while the bowlers failed to live up to expectations. Fast bowler Nahid Rana had a forgettable debut in this format, conceding 50 runs in four overs, although he did pick up two wickets.

Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Shoriful Islam also leaked runs heavily, with the former missing his line and length several times in the last over, when UAE needed 12 runs with three wickets in hand.

Although captain Liton Das admitted to fielding lapses, he mainly cited dew as the primary factor behind the defeat.

"Any loss is hard, but we still batted well on this wicket. The pitch was pretty good. When they batted, they had the advantage of dew. We missed a bit in the fielding and in the middle-over bowling," Liton said after the match.

"When you play on this type of ground, which is small and where dew is a factor, you have to calculate and plan accordingly (as bowlers). What Rana did before (his final over), we were expecting more from him."

"You can have good days and bad days. We will sit, talk, and come back strongly (in the third match)," he added.

Emboldened by the landmark victory, UAE are now eyeing to win the series 2-1.

"We will go with our strength (in the third game), and hopefully we can make it 2-1," UAE captain Muhammad Waseem said.

"I am very happy that we beat Bangladesh... very happy with the performance. I kept giving hope to everyone that we can chase this score because we know the conditions here."

The two teams have met five times in this format so far, with Bangladesh winning four straight matches before losing the most recent one.

Bangladesh squad: Liton Das (captain), Mahedi Hasan, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali Anik, Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam.

UAE squad: Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D'Souza, Haider Ali, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Muhammad Zuhaib, Rahul Chopra, Saghir Khan, Sanchit Sharma, Simranjeet Singh.
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