(Cricket news) Pakistan were one of the top teams at the ICC T20 World Cup a few days ago but a minor mistake in one match shattered their hopes towards winning the cup. For Bangladesh, they had a poor run at the event as they exited with 5 consecutive losses. Pakistan seem to be the favourites and in the past two weeks have outdone themselves in all aspects of the game. Three T20 matches will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium as Bangladesh will have the home advantage and have played exceedingly well at the ground.
Pakistan currently has the best T20 openers in the game this year as Mohammad Rizwan and captain Babar Azam have broken records multiple times this year. Both combined have scored 1859 runs in 40 innings, Rizwan became the first cricketer to have scored more than 1000 runs in T20 matches in a single season while Babar has the chance to become the second player after his compatriot to score more than 900 runs in a year and is 7 runs away from becoming the leading scorer in the format for his side. Rest of the batters have not scored more than 300 runs as Fakhar Zaman and Shoaib Malik can also pose a threat to the bowlers.
Among the bowlers, Hasan Ali and Shaeen Afridi will be leading the bowling attack along with spinner Shadab Khan. Hasan Ali has been the leading wicket taker this year with 22 wickets in 17 matches and Haris Rauf coming in second with 20 wickets in 18 matches. The bowlers could not do well against Australia in the semifinal at the World Cup and will hope to give Bangladesh lots of trouble in their backyard.
Bangladesh have a winning track record at home especially this year with wins coming against Australia and New Zealand. Even though they had a disappointing run at the T20 World Cup, they have in form batters and bowlers. In their batting line up, Mohammad Naim has scored 526 runs in 23 innings this year while captain Mahmudullah has scored 465 runs and is only 61 runs away from becoming the first batter from his country to score 2000 runs in T20 internationals. Shakib Al Hasan’s injury is a big blow to the team as he has been the top all rounder for the side in all the three formats.
In the bowling section, four bowlers from the squad have taken 20 or more wickets this year in the format. Shoriful Islam made his debut in T20 a few months and the pace bowler has taken 21 wickets in 15 matches. Mustafizur Rahman will be leading the bowling attack as he is one of the most reliable bowlers for the team and can deliver pinpoint yorkers to topple the batters. Nasum Ahmed also made his debut this year and has taken 22 wickets in 17 matches, the bowlers will try to restrict the openers from scoring and hope to bat first.
Also read: India Vs New Zealand: Men in blue look to seal T20I series in Ranchi
