DHAKA, Dec 2, 2025 (BSS) - Ireland captain Paul Stirling won the toss and decided to bat first in the series-deciding third T20 International against Bangladesh at Bir Shrestha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram today.

The series is currently tied at 1-1. Ireland won the first game by 39 runs before Bangladesh clawed back into the series with a hard-fought four-wicket victory.

Bangladesh made three changes for the deciding match, which is their last International assignment this year.

Middle order batter Shamim Patwari who was added to the squad made a comeback straightaway along with leg-spinner Rishad Hossain and pacer Shoriful Islam, replacing Nurul Hasan Sohan, Nasum Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib 

"We wanted to bat first," Bangladesh captain Liton Das said after the toss. "Because the pitch is a little bit dry, and we thought it would offer some good bounce."

"If you lose a couple of wickets in the Powerplay, it's very difficult to score a lot of runs. The thing is, we have to keep enough wickets in hand after the Powerplay and put up a total."

 Ireland also brought up three changes from the previous squad, with Curtis Campher, Benjamin White and Craig Young coming in place of Joshua Little, Barry McCarthy and Benjamin Calitz.

"Let's try and stick a good score on the board and hopefully defend it slightly better than we did the other day. It looks dry, and hopefully, we're going to use our spinners," Stirling said. "We picked a different side today, and hopefully, we'll get a big squeeze on in the second innings. It's been a really exciting brand of cricket, and it's another opportunity for us to continue that today."

He further said that they are motivated well, sensing a first-ever series victory in any format against Bangladesh. 

"I don't think securing a series win has been done in an Irish shirt before, so there's plenty of motivation for our side," Stirling said. 

Line Ups:
Bangladesh: Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Litton Das(w/c), Towhid Hridoy, Saif Hassan, Shamim Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Ireland: Paul Stirling(c), Tim Tector, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Matthew Humphreys, Craig Young, Benjamin White