Pakistan must capitalize on their opportunity against Bangladesh in order to end their four-match losing streak and maintain their semi-final aspirations.
Date and Venue
Tuesday 31 October, Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Summary
Babar Azam’s XI cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the Super Four stage of the most recent Asia Cup, the only ODI between Pakistan and Bangladesh since the previous ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
The same team also won the 2019 Cricket World Cup with a comprehensive 94-run victory that ended Bangladesh’s four-match winning sequence against the opposition.
This run constitutes the majority of Bangladesh’s five victories in 38 ODIs against a Pakistan side that has otherwise dominated the head-to-head meetings in the format.
Pakistan will be more concerned with the present than the past, as their Cricket World Cup campaign is on the verge of disintegrating after four consecutive losses.
To have any chance of advancing to the quarterfinal stages of the tournament, the 1992 champions must win their remaining matches and pray for favorable results elsewhere.
A fifth consecutive loss for Pakistan would essentially seal their elimination from the championship tournament in India.
Bangladesh began the Cricket World Cup with a resounding victory over Afghanistan, but they have yet to add another victory and have fallen to the bottom of the standings.
Pakistan have much more to play for this time around, as both teams are running out of chances to salvage their seasons.
Squads
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.
Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Kumer Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
Key players
Pakistan – Mohammad Rizwan
The star wicketkeeper has been Pakistan’s most consistent batsman thus far in the Cricket World Cup, failing to get off to a start in only one of six innings.
Rizwan began the tournament with a fifty against the Netherlands and a century against Sri Lanka, but he has also scored at least 30 runs three times during Pakistan’s stretch of four consecutive losses.
Pakistan must rely on the now-classic partnership of Rizwan and Babar if they are to find a way back to the path leading to the elimination stages. Babar is also beginning to make a greater impact.
Bangladesh – Shoriful Islam
The left-handed quick is one of the rising talents for a Bangladesh squad in need of an injection of adolescent vigor.
The 22-year-old has attacked his first Cricket World Cup aggressively, claiming eight wickets in six matches.
However, Shoriful has frequently labored to contain the top opposition batters, allowing 6.51 runs per over.
Shoriful takes the new ball alongside the explosive pacer Taskin Ahmed, but he made his mark in the middle stages of Bangladesh’s lone victory at the tournament, and he will likely need to replicate that performance for his team to earn a second victory in India.
