Bangladesh vs Pakistan, NZ Tri Series 2022, Today Match Prediction 07 October 2022

ban vs pak Match Prediction & Analysis

The New Zealand tri-series will kick off with Bangladesh taking on Pakistan at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. This will be a good exercise for all of the teams before they travel to Australia for the T20 World Cup. 

Pakistan had an interesting home series against England where they lost 3-4. Babar Azam scored a hundred in the series giving the fans and team management some hope ahead of the world event. 

Mohammad Rizwan has been the most consistent batsman for Pakistan. He’s single-handedly carried Pakistan on his shoulders through most of their wins. And this is not a growing concern as the middle order continues to fail. The likes of Shan Masood, Asif Ali, and Mohammad Nawaz will have to deliver with the bat in the middle and lower order. 

Bangladesh had a poor Asia Cup tournament where they lost to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka and failed to make it to the Super 4. The fielding and bowling efforts were at their worst. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Bangladesh Preview

The two losses in Asia Cup that led to their exit from the tournament must have been heartbreaking for Bangladesh. Neither Afghanistan nor Sri Lanka were expected to beat Bangladesh before the match started. Shakib Al Hasan’s team was a clear favourite to go to the Super 4 winning both their fixtures against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

The recent tour of UAE where they won both matches in the T20I series should have given Bangladesh a bit of confidence coming into this tri-series. Nurul Hasan who led the side on this tour has shown great promise as a wicket-keeper batsman at number 7. 

With Shakib back in the side, the all-rounder along with Liton Das will have to take scoring responsibility in the middle order. The two are experienced T20 players and will be in key roles in building partnerships. There is no Mushfiqur Rahim in the side anymore and someone has to fill in his place.

Rahim was a reliable middle-order batsman who played many match-winning knocks for Bangladesh. Now, it would be batting all-rounder Afif Hossain who will come in at 4 or 5 to add strength to the Bangladesh batting order. Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, and Shakib Al Hasan will be the key bowlers for Bangladesh in this match.

Bangladesh Predicted Playing XI:

Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Litton Das, Afif Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mosaddek Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain

Bangladesh Actual Playing XI:

Hasan Mahmud, Nurul Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Nasum Ahmed, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Yasir Ali Choudhary, Mehidy Hasan, Afif Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

Pakistan Preview

Though they are coming here with a 3-4 loss in the home series against England, Pakistan are still a much better side than Bangladesh. There are many areas where the 2009 T20 World Cup champions need to improve. And this tri-series is just what they need to find their form ahead of the big event. 

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will be key to Pakistan’s victory as usual. However, this trend of the openers leading the way is not a good sign for Pakistan and soon needs to change. 

The middle order now features Shan Masood who made it into the T20 World Cup squad on the back of his PSL performance. However, he couldn't make most of the opportunity during the recent T20I series against England.

Masood scored a half-century in the final T20I which was the decider match of the series. His 56 off 43 balls didn’t make much of an impact on the run chase as Pakistan lost by a huge margin of 67 runs.

This tri-series is a great opportunity for the likes of Masood, Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, and Mohammad Nawaz to find their rhythm and get some runs under their belt. 

Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah

Pakistan Actual Playing XI:

Iftikhar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali, Shan Masood, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch at the Hagley Oval is a balanced one with help for both batters and bowlers. There is pace and bounce on offer and the batters, once set, can score runs at ease. New ball bowlers, with their line and length in check, can make an impact here. The weather is expected to be sunny with a high of 11 degrees Celsius. This is a lot different from what both teams are accustomed to in the subcontinent.
 

Venue Details

Hagley Oval in Christchurch has hosted only 2 T20 internationals so far. This ground will host all of the 7 T20Is in this tri-series including the final. The average 1st innings score at this venue in the domestic T20s is 159 runs. 
 

Toss: To Bowl

The stats show a balance between the number of wins for teams batting first and second at this venue. Of the 2 T20Is played here, 1 was won by the team batting first. Whereas, teams batting second won 16 of the 33 domestic T20 matches played at this ground. A balanced pitch makes hardly any difference whether the team opts to bowl or bat first. It all comes down to who plays better cricket on the day.