Match Timing: 31 Oct 2023, 14:00
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
The battle of Pakistan and Bangladesh has recently been more competitive and they have had some closely fought matches in the last decade. But this time, both the teams have very little to play for. Bangladesh is all but out of the world cup, and Pakistan is on the brink of elimination from the tournament and a slip up against Bangladesh will mean that Men in Green will be out. But, you can never rule out Pakistan in any situation, they have time and again showed that they can make it from any position, although it looks a tall task this time to reach the semis.
Pakistan's problem starts from the top. Abdullah Shafique is good, but they also need an aggressive player to play the big shots in the first powerplay, and Imam-ul-Haq is doing little there. They can probably bring in Fakhar Zaman for this match and see if he can make any difference with his big hits.
Babar Azam is having an under-par tournament partly due to the high standards he has set for himself, and hehas been unable to convert the 50s to a big score. And his captaincy has been under threats with few questionable decisions in the close matches.
Mohammad Rizwan is the only man in good form for Pakistan, but he lacks the support from the middle and lower order.
The fast bowlers, Haris Rauf in particular, have been quite expensive in this tournament. Although, Shaheen Afridi has been in the wickets, but he has also been leaking runs and not being very effective in the crunch moments. And spin performance has been extremely under-par.
Bangladesh have their own issues, and it start even before the tournament is started surrounding the controversary between Tamim Iqbal and captain Shakib Al Hasan. Even after that, Bangladesh was able to start the tournament ona winning note with a win over Afghanistan, but after that it has been a downward trend for the Bangla tigers, as they lost 5 matches on the trot.
Bangladesh's situation is no better than their counterparts. Neither the openers nor the middle order seem to be finding their groove. The only batsman who is able to play is Mahmudullah and he too comes in at No. 7. If the Bangladesh have to give fight to Pakistan in this match, they will need their senior duo of Litton Das, Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim to fire. The fast bowlers have been decent with their performances, but their spinners are also not doing too well.
Predicted XIs:
Pakistan
Abdullah Shafique
Fakhar Zaman/Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (Captain)
Mohammad Rizwan (Wicket-Keeper)
Saud Shakeel
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Mohammad Nawaz
Shaheen Afridi
Mohammad Wasim Jr.
Haris Rauf
Bangladesh
Tanzid Hasan
Litton Das
Mehdy Hasan Miraz
Najmul Hossain Shanto
Shakib Al Hasan (Captain)
Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicket-Keeper)
Mahmudullah
Mahedi Hasan/Nasum Ahmed
Taskin Ahmed
Mustafizur Rahman
Shoriful Islam
Fantasy XI
Babar Azam (Captain)
Shakib Al Hasan (Vice-Captain)
Abdullah Shafique
Litton Das
Mohammad Rizwan
Mushfiqur Rahim
Shaheen Afridi
Taskin Ahmed
Mehdy Hasan Miraz
Haris Rauf
Shoriful Islam
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