PAK vs BAN Match Prediction
We are now gradually approaching the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup’s business end. As of this writing, there are just 14 league games left to play. Of them, 31 have already been played. For the time being, South Africa, India, Australia, and New Zealand have solidified their places in the top four. Pakistan, one of the tournament favorites, is currently in terrible shape. For the first time in their World Cup history, they have dropped to sixth position in the standings after losing four straight games.
Even worse, they have a pitiful net run rate of -0.387. In order to make it into the semifinals, they will now need to win each of their final three games by sizable margins and hope that other outcomes go their way. Pakistan’s next match is against Bangladesh, who have had a very forgettable campaign of their own. They will be feeling very depressed after losing to Netherlands in Kolkata, their fifth straight loss in the competition.
TEAMS PREVIEW
Pakistan Preview
Pakistan recently suffered a devastating one-wicket loss in Chennai against South Africa. Pakistan’s seamers bowled great guts and stayed in the game all the way to the end, defending a score of 271 on a spiced pitch. Unfortunately for them, with 16 balls left, South Africa held their composure and triumphed.
Pakistan has now dropped four straight games in the competition as a result of this defeat. It seems like a lifetime ago today, but on October 10 against Sri Lanka, they last recorded a victory.
If Pakistan were being truthful with themselves, they would realize that they alone are to blame for their current predicament. Their bowling assault has mostly failed them, while their batting has been patchy at best.
It will be up to Captain Babar Azam to take the initiative. Despite having three fifty-score runs thus far in the campaign, the star batter hasn’t seemed like himself. Still, he appears to be making progress. We believe that Babar will be crucial to Pakistan’s victory in this match.
With 333 runs in 6 innings, Mohammad Rizwan has been the team’s top scorer. He needs to get his act together for this crucial match because he hasn’t scored a major in the previous three games.
Additionally, we think Abdullah Shafique, who has scored 264 runs in five innings at 52.80, will contribute significantly to this game. He will enjoy batting on this surface as he appears to be the most disciplined batsman in Pakistan.
Shaheen Afridi’s comeback to form was one of Pakistan’s positives from the most recent game. Pakistan was able to stay in the game till the very end thanks to his 3-45 from 10 overs, and he will probably make things difficult for Bangladesh’s hitters.
In the game against South Africa, Haris Rauf and Muhammad Wasim Jr. both displayed great performances. Bangladesh’s batting team is now lacking confidence, and this Pakistani pace attack might easily destroy them.
Pakistan Predicted XI:
Muhammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), and Muhammad Rizwan (wk).
Bangladesh Preview
For Bangladesh, this World Cup will be remembered fondly. They have now dropped their last five games after defeating Bangladesh to begin the season. They were bowled out for just 142 in their last match at the Eden Gardens versus Netherlands, when they were chasing a total of 230. Bangladesh now sits in ninth position on the table with a dismal net run rate of -1.338 as a result of that defeat. It will be challenging for them to recover from this setback, but they still have three games remaining to close the tournament on a positive note.
Bangladesh’s batting hasn’t performed well at all. Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, and skipper Shakib Al Hasan were all anticipated to perform well, but they haven’t been able to deliver in crunch time.
Shakib, coming off a run of losses, will be keen to make an impression. His ODI average of 43.28 against Pakistan may offer him the confidence he needs to eventually remove the restraints.
Mahmudullah is the only player from Bangladesh to make a century in this competition, and he has been their most reliable batter. He frequently bats with the tail, though, as he bats far too low in the order.
Shoriful Islam has been the most impressive bowler, taking 8 wickets in 6 innings at an economy of 6.50. But the ones who have shown consistency are the spinners. Mehidy Hasan Miraz (6 wickets), Mahedi Hasan (6 wickets), and Shakib Al Hasan (7 wickets) have all performed admirably. They have maintained discipline and consistently grabbed wickets. These three spinners together with Mustafizur Rahman would be quite dangerous on this pitch against the Pakistani batting lineup.
Bangladesh Predicted XI:
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), and Mushfiqur Rahim (wk).
PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS
Weather Conditions
One of the best ODI cricket pitches in the nation is found in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. For the spin bowlers, it always has some bounce and turn, and for the seamers, it always has some nip. During the beginning of their innings, batters will encounter difficulty and must use caution when assessing movement off the surface. But they can begin playing their strokes once they get their eye in. There are runs to be had because the outfield is blazing fast and the boundaries are short.
For the majority of the day, Kolkata’s weather will be hazy but comfortable and cool.
Venue Details
At Eden Gardens, the first innings average is 235. The greatest score ever recorded here was India’s massive 404-5 against Sri Lanka in 2014. It hasn’t been a very scoring location lately, as the encounter between Bangladesh and the Netherlands showed. Netherlands scored 229 runs after batting first, and they went on to knock Bangladesh out for a mere 142 runs. In this game, the team batting first should aim to score between 270 and 280 runs.
Toss: To Bat
At Eden Gardens, it’s usually safer to bat first. 19 of the 32 ODIs that have taken place here have been won by the team that batted first. The team that wins the toss should bat first because the weather is predicted to be pleasant.
Winning Prediction
Paskitan will Win this Match
There have only been two ODI World Cup matches between Pakistan and Bangladesh; Pakistan won the 2019 match, while the Bangla Tigers prevailed in the 1999 match. In the most recent Asia Cup, Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets in September. Even though Pakistan has dropped their last four games, they are still a very formidable squad when they play well.
There were hints of it in the game versus South Africa. When against a struggling Bangladesh, they will be the clear favorites. Bangladesh doesn’t inspire confidence and appears to be in full disarray. Their morale would have been severely damaged by the defeat to the Netherlands, and they will require extraordinary effort to defeat Pakistan. Pakistan ought to win easily, in our opinion.
