The second game of the World T20 Super 10 stage sees Pakistan and Bangladesh come face to face in Group 2 in Kolkata. The game gets underway at 9.30am UK time and it will be interesting to see which side can handle the pressure and get off to a perfect start.
Pakistan will be hoping to put their bad form in the Asia Cup behind them as they play their first game against in-form Bangladesh. The men in green lost against India and Bangladesh in the tournament with only one win coming from their game against the United Arab Emirates. In terms of warm-up matches before the tournament, Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by 15 runs in Kolkata on Monday.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, are in great form having come through the qualifiers in the last week to get through to the super 10 stage. The tigers defeated the Netherlands in their first game by 8 runs and then in a winner takes all tie with Oman they won by 54 runs. Before the World T20 though there were signs of form from the tigers as they got through to the Asia Cup final only to lose to India in the final.
T20 Rankings
Ahead of the start of the tournament Pakistan were in seventh place while Bangladesh were in 10th position in the rankings. In T20 though these rankings can lie as one win can move you up the rankings while one loss means you can lose a few places.
Key Players
Shahid Afridi - Afridi will be a big reason if Pakistan manage to go far in the competition. On his day there are not to many spinners in the world that can match what Afridi brings to the table. Indian conditions will suit Afridi's bowling and he will be out to make a big impact just like he likes to do. The captain is the leading wicket taker in T20 cricket with 93 wickets in 94 matches and he will be looking to go past 100 wickets during this tournament.
Tamim Iqbal - Tamim is in fantastic form scoring 83*, 47, and 103* in Bangladesh's three games so far this tournament. The big-hitting opener is a very dangerous player that has so far not really gone big in major tournaments. The early signs though so far this time are really promising.
So far in the tournament a lot of players have stood up for the Tigers but if not for Tamim's runs in the first match against the Netherlands then the result could have been so much different. There are not many bowlers in the world that want to come up against him due to how aggressive he is.
Team News
The return of seamer Mohammed Amir after five years away from the game will boost the chances of the men in green. Depending on the pitch before the game Pakistan many opt for an extra spinners with the option likely to be that of Imad Wasim. Ahmed Shehzed is set to open the batting while Wahab Riaz is set to play ahead of Mohammed Sami.
Pakistan Wold T20 Squad: - Shahid Afridi (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Mallik, Mohammad Irfan, Sharjeel Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Amir, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Khurram Manzoor.
Coach - Waqar Younis.
Bangladesh are sweating on the fitness of wicketkeeper Mustafizur Rahim but if he is fit then he will stay in the team. Bangladesh are likely to keep the same lineup that worked well for them during the qualifiers.
Bangladesh World T20 Squad: - Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Arafat Sunny, Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rehman, Abu Hider, Nurul Hasan, Al-Amin Hossain, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammed Mithun, Mustafizur Rahman.
Coach - Chandika Hathurusingha.