Pakistan meet Bangladesh in the first of the three T20Is slated to be played between the two teams at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday, May 28. These games will provide good preparation for both teams, especially for Bangladesh. The Bangla Tigers have a young team at their disposal and are going through a transitional period.
New captain Litton Das is expected to bring his own style of captaincy to the fore, and he will be under the spotlight throughout this series. Bangladesh did not get off to a good start under his captaincy. They were beaten 1-2 by the United Arab Emirates in a three-match T20I series in Sharjah prior to this.
The loss would have severely hampered their confidence. The Bangla Tigers will hope that they can counter the challenges sent their way by Pakistan, who seem to be a stronger opponent. The home team, led by Salman Agha, have a good mixture of youth and experience in their squad. Their young players have been rewarded for their performances in the Pakistan Super League.
The PSL was halted for a brief period due to tensions between India and Pakistan, but it is now back underway. Bangladesh failed to deal with dew against the UAE, and Pakistan would have taken note of that. With new white-ball coach Mike Hesson (formerly of New Zealand and Royal Challengers Bengaluru) taking charge, one can also expect Pakistan to play a new, brave, and attractive brand of cricket from this series.
Bangladesh have been dealt a couple of huge blows ahead of this series. As a result, Mustafizur Rahman and Soumya Sarkar were ruled out due to injuries. They will have to make do with the rest of the players they have in order to challenge the hosts and beat them in their own backyard.
Predicted Teams
PAK: Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Sahibzada Farhan, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali.
BAN: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das (c), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali (wk), Shamim Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Tanvir Islam, Nahid Rana.
Key Players
Shadab Khan (PAK): All-rounder Shadab Khan is one of the players to look out for in this Pakistan outfit. The leg-spinner is known for his wide range of deliveries while sticking to a consistent line and length. He is also given the responsibility of steering his team towards the finish line with the bat in hand. Khan can also hit the ball a long way, making him a valuable option in the death overs. Either with the ball or bat, Khan is a player whom Pakistan will rely heavily on in this format of the game. While bowling, Khan can count himself among those rare leg-spinners who do not toss the ball too much, instead focusing on maintaining a strict and exact line and length.
Najmul Hossain Shanto (BAN): Former Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is one of the best players in the side and can be quite a tricky proposition once he gets set. Letting go of the captaincy may have helped his batting, as was visible from a 27 against the UAE recently. Shanto is one of the best players of spin in the country and is renowned for bringing the sweep shot out to suit his needs whenever he feels bogged down. The southpaw has some other scoring options at his disposal, which come to the fore when he gets set, establishes his rhythm, and starts moving his feet well. He has a lot of responsibility for leading Bangladesh’s run-scoring, not just in this game but throughout the series.
Match Prediction
Pakistan have an edge over Bangladesh, and we expect them to win this game quite comfortably. They know the Lahore conditions far better than the visitors. Given this and combined with their ability to deal with the dew factor well, they will propel themselves towards a top position. Bangladesh will be missing Soumya Sarkar and Mustafizur Rahman in this series. They must play out of their skins to defeat Pakistan, especially after they came up short recently against the UAE, who are not even a Test-playing nation. Litton Das’s captaincy has gotten off to a rocky start, and Bangladesh will hope that things improve as time progresses. He has been appointed to the helm till the next T20 World Cup in 2026. The Bangla Tigers have plenty of time to get their act together by then. In this game, however, Pakistan should secure a victory.
