Pakistan will take on Bangladesh in the second and final Test of the bilateral series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Friday, August 30. The Test is slated to go on until Tuesday, September 3. Bangladesh will have a slight upper hand over their opponents in this game.
Bangladesh won the first Test played last week by ten wickets and will hope to continue in the same vein of form. They will want to continue in the way they did last week and want to push the Pakistani side out of their comfort zone. That win was the first time Bangladesh beat Pakistan in their history.
Pakistan struggled with good team selection in the first Test, as they picked four seamers to play on a pitch that did not have anything for them. The pitch was turning a lot, and this is where the Bangladeshis had an advantage, as they had selected a few spinners in their side. The surface is expected to be the same in the second Test as well.
Predicted Squads
PAK: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali.
BAN: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana.
Key Players
Mohammad Rizwan (PAK): Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, who almost single-handedly salvaged the Pakistani innings in the first Test with a brilliant 171, will also be a player to watch out for this time. Bangladesh must ensure they do not give him freebies to get settled.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (BAN): All-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz contributed with both bat and ball in the first Test and will be keen on doing so in the second game. If he manages to do so, Bangladesh will have an upper hand over their opponents and push them to the brink of defeat yet again.
Match Prediction
Despite Bangladesh stunning Pakistan in the first Test and winning it by a comfortable margin, the latter are the favourites to win the second. This match was slated to be played in Karachi, but it had to be moved back to Rawalpindi at the last moment. Bangladesh will surely give the hosts a tough fight, but the latter are the favourites to win comfortably.
