Pakistani team is ready to face Bangladesh in their last group-stage match today at Lord’s with a target almost beyond their reach. Pakistan needs a miracle or two to qualify for the semi-finals.
Mashrafe Mortaza can literally knock Pakistan out with a coin toss, provided he decides to bat first after winning the toss. Pakistan will need to get the toss right and then pile up loads of runs, break a number of records and then bundle out Bangladesh very cheaply to end up in the top 4. Not very realistic, is it?
Pakistan’s best bet would be to approach the match like a T20 game with two periods of 20 overs each and then go for a bang in the last 10 overs. That’s the only way they can get anywhere near 450 or 500.
Match Details
- Match Time:Â 2:30 pm PST
- Venue:Â Lord’s Cricket Stadium, London
- Weather:Â There are no chances of rain today
- Toss:Â Pakistan (we wish)
Team Updates
It remains to be seen whether Shoaib Malik gets a farewell match or not, and if he does, it will either be at the cost of Mohammad Hafeez or Fakhar Zaman. If Fakhar sits out, Hafeez is likely to open the batting with Imam-ul-Haq. Wahab played one of the matches with fever and another with a fractured finger. If he does not play, he will make way for Hasan Ali or Mohammad Hasnain.
Bangladesh has a settled XI and it is unlikely that they will tinker with their combination.
Probable Playing XIs
Pakistan
Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez/Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (C, WK), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Mustafizur Rahman
Players to Watch Out For
Pakistan
If Pakistan are to post a big total, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam are the key. If they are able to provide a solid platform, the lower order needs to step up the finishing game.
Bangladesh
Shakib-al-Hasan is the only all-rounder in World Cup history to score 500 runs and take 10 wickets. He will once again be the biggest threat.
Stats
Pakistan last won against Bangladesh in Asia Cup 2014. After that Pakistan has lost four games in a row.
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INSHAH ALLAH
if pakistan bowls first and does not let bangladesh score more than a 100 and then complete the score in 8 over then pakistan can qualify