Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Pakistan vs Bangladesh 2020, Today Match Prediction 07 Feb 2020

pak vs ban Match Prediction & Analysis

Host Pakistan will be looking to continue their winning streak when they take on Bangladesh in the first game of Test series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Previously, both teams have already faced each other in the three-T20I series, where Pakistan won by 2-0 margin. In the T20I series, Pakistan dominated proceedings with five-wicket and nine-wicket wins in the first and second games of the series. The third and final game of the series was abandoned due to heavy showers.

On the other hand, Bangladesh are coming into this Test series without their premier players. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim are notable absentees from the squad for this two-match series. Mominul Haque will lead the side for this contest.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Pakistan Preview

Off-spinner Bilal Asif and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf have been included in Pakistan’s Test squad. Captain Azhar Ali will be hoping that the side can deliver a strong show in this opening Test.

In the first Test of the series, the home side will be depending on Captain Azhar Ali, opener Abid Ali and middle-order batsman Babar Azam to contribute significantly in the batting department. They will be accompanied by in-form Shan Masood and Asad Shafiq. In the previous home series, opener Abid Ali was the standout performer with the bat and was the leading run-scorer for Pakistan. He accumulated 321 runs in 3 innings at an average of 160.50 with two centuries to his name.

Besides Abid, Babar Azam has been premier batsman for Pakistan in red-ball cricket. Since Jan 2019, Azam has accumulated 616 runs in 11 innings at an average of 68.44 with three centuries and three half-centuries to his name. Opener Shan Masood has consistently produced scores for the side in red-ball cricket for past 12 months, Fawad Alam or Faheem Ashraf might be included in the playing XI for this opening Test. Haris Sohail might sit on the sidelines as he has not done much with the bat in Test cricket this season.

In the bowling department, the team will be banking on the new-ball pair of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Abbas to make early inroads, and they will be accompanied by young Naseem Shah, who picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in the Karachi Test against Sri Lanka. Yasir Shah might be the lone spinner included in the playing XI for this game.

Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Yasir Shah and Mohammad Abbas.

Pakistan Actual Playing XI:

Yasir Shah, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Naseem Shah, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Azhar Ali

Bangladesh Preview

For Bangladesh, it will be a great opportunity to put up a decent fight in this two-match Test series In the batting department, the team will be heavily relying on experienced duo of Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah to lead from the front and produce much-needed runs for the visitors. Since Jan 2019, Mahmudullah has topped the batting charts for Bangladesh in Test cricket. He has accumulated 332 runs in 5 Test matches at an average of 36.88 with one century and one half-century to his name.

Besides Mahmudullah, opener Tamim Iqbal has played two Test matches and scored 278 runs in 4 innings at an average of 69.50 with one century and two half-centuries to his name. He will be accompanied by Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun and Captain Mominul Haque who are more than capable of scoring big runs for the team.

In the bowling department, Al-Amin Hossain and Rubel Hossain will take care of the pace attack, whereas it is not certain if visitors will go with the third seamer in Ebadat Hussain or Abu Jayed. Taijul Islam and Nayeem Hasan will fight it out for a place in the playing XI.

Bangladesh Predicted Playing XI:

Tamim Iqbal, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mahmudullah, Mominul Haque (captain), Liton Das, Mohammad Mithun (wk), Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Ebadat Hossain/Abu Jayed.

Bangladesh Actual Playing XI:

Mahmudullah, Ebadat Hossain, Mominul Haque, Liton Das, Tamim Iqbal, Taijul Islam, Abu Jayed, Mohammad Mithun, Rubel Hossain, Saif Hassan, Nazmul Hossain

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch is expected to offer lateral movement and bounce for fast-bowlers, whereas weather forecast for the game to be played on Friday is expected to stay fine throughout.

Venue Details

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is going to host the opening game of the Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh. The home side will take heart from the fact that they have won nine matches out of ten played against Bangladesh. Bangladesh has yet to win a Test match against Pakistan.

Toss: To Bowl

Due to cool weather in Rawalpindi, the side that win the toss, might bowl first and look to make use of early moisture present in the surface.