ICC World Cup 2019: Match 43, Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Preview – Men in green chase an impossible dream at Lord’s

When we say impossible, this is no exaggeration. Pakistan really have an absolutely impossible task ahead of them heading into the final game of the tournament at the home of cricket, failing which could cost them a place in the semifinals. The scenarios for them to qualify are so complicated that it’s beyond cricketing reach, at least such results have not been achieved in cricket between two on-par teams.

One fair chance for Pakistan could be to score the impossible 500 runs as that gives them around 170 runs to play with. If that track is good enough for them to score 500, it will be difficult to restrict Bangladesh as well but that is what the situation demands right now. Worst of all, if Bangladesh decide to bat first, Pakistan will be eliminated without a ball being bowled as they cannot overhaul New Zealand’s run rate while chasing.

Bangladesh will be very proud of what they managed to pull off this tournament. They nearly got the better of India in the last game, but a defeat confirmed their exit. They will be fighting to finish with another stellar result of beating another former champion side, which should put a smile on a lot of dejected Bangla supporters.

Playing Combinations

Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq will open the innings and there will be no changes in the order of the next three batsmen coming up. Haris Sohail has been such a ray of hope for them this edition and the fans will once again look up to him. Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi will have very little runs to play with, which means they have to bowl their heart out every ball. Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz have had a decent outing, but they were not at their best.

Predicted XI

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (C & WK), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Bangladesh

Tamim Iqbal has been a major disappointment among senior players and he also dropped Rohit Sharma early on in the last game. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim have been outstanding with Liton Das showcasing his skills in a couple of games. Mahmudullah could come in for Sabbir Rahman if he’s fit. Mehidy Hasan too might replace Rubel Hossain going by how the Australia-New Zealand match panned out.

Predicted XI

Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Sabbir Rahman/Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Rubel Hossain/Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman

Focus will be on

Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan)

If Pakistan bat first, there is only one man in their top order who can get them anywhere close to an astronomic total. Fakhar Zaman will be well aware of what the situation demands and if the track is good, he could come in very handy. Pakistan’s chances of achieving the impossible dream is now in the hands of Fakhar and a couple of other hard-hitting batsmen.

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)

A potential man of the tournament winner, Shakib Al Hasan has been tremendous for the side individually but the team couldn’t play around him and resulted in Bangladesh getting knocked out. He’s produced a memorable performance for the Tigers, becoming only the first cricketer in the history to score 500 runs and pick 10 wickets in a single World Cup. He will be in action for one final time this edition on Friday.

Head to head

Matches played – 36 | Pakistan won – 31 | Bangladesh won – 5 | No result – 0

Stat Attack

91 – Mushfiqur Rahim needs 91 runs to complete 6,000 runs in ODIs.

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports

Online – Hotstar

Match Timings – 15:00 IST; 10:30 local