Bangladesh bowlers faced a different challenge than the first two matches on what seemed to be a batting-friendly wicket in the third and final T20I of the series against Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.
Pakistan posted 178-7 in 20 overs after being sent to bat first thanks to contributions from opener Shahibzada Farhan, Hasan Nawaz, and Mohammad Nawaz.
Bangladesh made five changes in their starting line-up from the second match; four of those were bowlers.
Nasum Ahmed, who spent 22 runs in four overs, was the only bowler to give away less than six runs in an over. Apart from Nasum, all the Bangladesh bowlers spent seven or more runs in an over.
Conversely, in the first two matches, only one bowler in each game conceded seven or more runs per over.
The visitors, who had already lost the series, changed the opening combination. Farhan, who came in place of Fakhar Zaman, made an excellent start when he dispatched Mahedi Hasan for a six followed by a four in the first over.
Balls were coming nicely into the bats, unlike on the surfaces of the first two matches, where they were gripping and holding.
Pakistan made 57 in the powerplay without losing any wicket, which was the highest between two teams in the series until that point.
Bangladesh captain Liton Das used as many as five bowlers inside the powerplay, but none could make the breakthrough.
The opening partnership between Farhan and Saim Ayub was extended to 87 before the latter was dismissed by Nasum.
This was only the fourth time in the last 18 matches that an opening partnership against Bangladesh reached 40 runs.
The wicket helped Bangladesh to tighten things a bit. Nasum, who was one of the changes, corrected his lines and lengths after being hit for some boundaries early in his bowling.
The left-arm spinner got the rewards too, as Farhad was also caught off his bowling after making 63 off 41.
Pakistan batters, bar Mohammad Haris, continued to play shots. Their approach backfired in the first two matches on tough wickets, but this time, they were successful on most occasions.
Haris, however, struggled in his strange innings of five off 14 before falling to Taskin Ahmed.
Pakistan lost five wickets in the middle overs while scoring 76 runs, while the last four overs yielded 45.
A strong finish from Mohammad Nawaz (27 off 16) helped Pakistan to go past 170 and set Bangladesh a difficult challenge with the bat.