Half centuries by captain Inzamam-ul-Haq (64) and Yousuf Youhana (65) helped Pakistan post a formidable 257 for nine off its 50 overs, despite reapeted power failures at the stadium.
Bangladesh's target was revised to 244 off 44 overs -- under the Duckworth/Lewis method -- after play was twice halted due to malfunctioning of one of six light towers and 55 minutes of play was lost. Gul's five wickets for just 17 runs in nine overs restricted Bangladesh to 201 for nine.
The victory not only gave the home team a decisive 3-0 lead in the five-match series, it was also Pakistan's 300th win in limited overs game after playing 564 matches. Pakistan won the opening match by 137 runs at Multan before beating Bangladesh by 74 runs in the second game at Faisalabad. Hannan Sarkar and Alok Kapali both made 61 runs each and added 95 runs for the fourth wicket off 122 balls. However, the run-rate kept on mounting and when Sarkar was bowled by part-time spinner Mohammad Hafeez in the 33rd over, Bangladesh was still 107 runs behind. Sarkar hit five fours in his 107-ball innings.
Gul returned for his second spell and removed Kapali and Mashrafe Bin Murtaza to record his best figures in 10 limited overs internationals. Kapali's aggressive innings off 69 balls included five fours and a six.
Gul claimed three wickets for just nine runs in his opening spell of seven overs and Bangladesh slumped to 42 for three in the 13th over. Mohammad Ashraful's miserable series continued as an opener when he was brilliantly caught by a diving Inzamam in the slips for second nought in three games while in-form Razin Saleh flashed wildly and gave a simple edge to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. Habibul Bashar took three fours in Shabbir Ahmad's one over but he too top edged to Abdul Razzaq at third man.
Earlier, Yousuf Youhana and Inzamam also scored half centuries which helped Pakistan cross the 250-run mark. Right arm medium fast Tapash Baisya claimed three wickets in his last five deliveries to finish with best figures of four for 56. He had Abdul Razzaq caught on the boundary by Habibul Bashar before clean bowling Kamran Akmal with a slower delivery. Junaid Zia also got a top edge and skied a catch to Kahled Mashud.
Inzamam made sure Pakistan crossed the 250-run mark with an unbeaten 64 -- his 66th half century in limited overs game -- which included four sixes and two boundaries and came off 54 balls. Inzamam's brisk knock helped Pakistan score 84 runs in the last 10 overs.
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