Pakistan will lock horns against Bangladesh in the 31st match of the ongoing World Cup 2023 at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Tuesday. Both of these teams are struggling in the bottom half of the points table and it will be a must-win game for them.
After winning their first two matches, Pakistan have veered off the track as they have lost their last four games. It has been a similar story for Bangladesh, who won their opening clash against Afghanistan but have lost five games since then.
Pakistan suffered a heart-breaking loss against South Africa in their last game by one wicket. The Babar Azam-led team had come up with a collective batting display but they would have been disappointed as they could not play all their 50 overs, which proved to be costly.
Shaheen Shah Afridi has been the pick of the Pakistan bowlers in the ongoing ODI showpiece but he hasn’t received the support from the other end.
On the other hand, the Tigers were stunned by the Dutch in their last game by a huge margin of 87 runs. The Shakib Al Hasan-led had done a decent job with the ball but they were skittled out for a paltry score of 142 runs as their batters continued to disappoint.
In fact, none of their batters could breach the 40-run mark in the run-chase as their poor run continued.
Match Prediction: Pakistan will enter the contest as favorites against depleted Bangladesh.
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.
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.
