Pakistan vs Bangladesh build-up: After having an inconsistent campaign, 1992 World Cup champions Pakistan will lock horns with Bangladesh in their final league fixture on Friday. While Bangladesh are out of the semi-final race, the Sarfaraz Ahmed side still have a minuscule possibility of making it to the final four.
Pakistan can only make it to the semis if they bat first against Bangladesh and will have to win the contest by at least 308 runs to overtake New Zealand on net run rate. If they score 308 runs and dismiss Bangladesh for 0, they qualify for the semis. If they score 350 and win by 312 runs, they qualify. If they score 400 and win by 316 runs, they qualify. If they score less than 308, they cannot qualify. No ODI has been won by more than 300 runs in history. Pakistan cannot qualify if they bat second as they would need to overhaul the target in less than zero balls, a mathematical impossibility.
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mustafizur Rahman
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed(w/c), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi
Pakistan win toss and elect to bat first
Bangladesh will rue their missed chances and would hope to bring some cheer to their fans back home with a solid performance against Pakistan, a team they had defeated in the 1999 edition. Currently placed seventh, Bangladesh have been impressive in their wins against South Africa, Afghanistan and West Indies. They have shown the stomach for a fight even in losses and Mashrafe Mortaza and his men will hope for a good outing against Pakistan on Friday.
Unlike Imran’s cornered tigers of ’92, Sarfraz’s boys didn’t have it in them to justify cricket’s famous dread ‘you never know with Pakistan’. The nostalgia-based hope has evaporated from cricket stadiums and Pak Twitter handles. [READ MORE]
🇧🇩 Shakib Al Hasan: “For me, there’s no difference between the first and last ODIs of the tournament.”
🇵🇰 Wahab Riaz: “We have played good cricket in the last three games and we hope to keep that momentum going.”
Watch the latest installment of At The Nets ahead of #PAKvBAN ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YyvnYdWdRN
Sarfaraz Ahmed, speaking at a press conference on the eve of their last World Cup group match against Bangladesh on Friday, said that his team will do everything possible to overhaul New Zealand’s net run rate and clinch the last remaining spot in the semifinals. “We will do our best to win the last game as well to end on a high and we will do our best to achieve that but we need to be realistic, but if Allah helps then miracles can happen,” he said. [READ MORE]
Pakistan’s resurgence in the World Cup looked eerily close to the 1992 Cup-winning edition before India’s loss to England dented their hopes of a semifinal spot and when New Zealand went down to the hosts last night, it was almost over for them. The road to the knockout stage for Sarfaraz Ahmed and his men is just an improbable mathematical calculation and that too provided Pakistan win the toss and bat first. [PREVIEW]
Hello and Welcome to the LIVE COVERAGE of the match between Bangladesh and Pakistan. While Bangladesh are out of the semi-final race, the Sarfaraz Ahmed side still have a minuscule possibility of making it to the final four.
PLAYING XI
BANGLADESH: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, , Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mushrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
PAKISTAN: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir
