Bangladesh-Pakistan final T20 match called off due to rain

The final contest of the three-match Twenty20 series between Pakistan and Bangladesh, which was scheduled to take place at 3:00pm (Bangladesh Time) at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on Monday, was called off due to rain.

With the cancellation of the match, Pakistan have won the T20 series 2-0, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Twitter. 

Pakistan clinched the series after handing a comprehensive defeat to Bangladesh in the previous two matches of the series. On Saturday, the hosts had comfortably chased the 137-run target set by the visiting team, who had won the toss and elected to bat first.

Pakistan had won the first match by five wickets.

The series is a critical one for Pakistan, who are struggling to retain their top spot in the International Cricket Council's world T20 ranking, which they have held since 2018. 

Recently, Pakistan have had an unimpressive run in T20s — in October, they were whitewashed by an amateur Sri Lankan team in Lahore and lost another series to Australia a month later.

The T20 series is the first of the tour split into three phases. The second phase will see Bangladesh play Pakistan in the first Test in Karachi from February 7 while in the third, the Tigers will play a solitary one-day International and the second Test in the metropolis in the first week of April.

Dhaka/AKA