Pakistan is all set to face in a two-match Test series starting from 21st August at Rawalpindi.
Match preview:
It will be Pakistan’s first series since January after they were whitewashed by the Australian side. It will be Pakistan’s first game since their early existence at the T20 World Cup 2024.
It will be Shan Masood’s second assignment as a Test captain while Jason Gillespie will kickstart his services with the team from this series.
The team will be relying on their pace-bowling as the side has announced 4 pacers in their playing XI, featuring Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Ali, and Khurram Shehzad.
Naseem will be making his comeback to Test cricket as he missed out on the Australia Test series due to injury. This series will also mark the comeback of Ali as he was dropped from the side after the England series in 2022.
All eyes will be on Babar Azam as he displayed sub-par performances during the Australia series. Also, this series will provide Azam to complete 3000 runs in the WTC as he will become the first Asian batter to achieve this feat.
Muhammad Rizwan has been given the green signal ahead of Sarfraz Ahmed. The wicket-keeper batter was the highest-run scorer for the side as he scored 193 runs at an average of 48.25. Aamer Jamal was also a standout performer in Australia but unfortunately he missed this series due to his injury.
The captain Shan Masood was hopeful that the side will put up a great show as this series is important in the context of Pakistan’s standings in the WTC. Also, the side will be eying a Test series win at home in 2021. Moreover, Masood will look to achieve his first Test win as a captain.
Talking about Bangladesh, they will be relying on their experienced batting unit to step-up. The side will return to action after they were humiliated by the Sri Lankan team during March-April.
The hopes will be high from Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan whereas the former will be making a comeback to the Test side from thumb injury. The presence of this experienced duo will also help the skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Pitch and weather report:
The pitch has been a bit of green and it is expected to favour the batters while it will also help the new ball bowlers. The last two Tests at this venue have been high-scoring games.
About the weather, rain is expected to disturb the play in all five days of the play.
Head-to-head record:
Both of the sides have played 12 Test games so far and all of the matches have been won by the Pakistan team. The Green Shirts will look to dominate and love to keep their record intact.
Predictions:
Although Pakistan have had bad performances at home but this time having a great squad and the presence of Jason can help Pakistan to win a home game after years. The home side is favourite to win the game.
Where to watch:
Pakistan: Tapmad
Bangladesh: Rabbitholebd.com
India: The Pakistan vs Bangladesh Test series will not be streamed or telecast in India.
Others: CricHD
