Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das scored identical half centuries to help tigers post a total of 173 for six in the sixth match of the T20 tri-series in Christchurch.

Country’s best all-rounder scored 68 off 42 balls, Das notched up 69 off 42 balls. Their 88-run partnership withstood the onslaught of the Pakistan bowlers, who took three wickets in the last two overs to prevent Bangladesh from scoring big at the end.

Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat first against Pakistan.

Though it is a dead rubber — Pakistan will play host New Zealand in the final on Friday — both the Asian nations are using Thursday’s match to test out strategies ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia. The World Cup begins on October 16.

Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan