T20: Pakistan eye win over BD in series opener
KARACHI: Buoyed up
by their series-
winning triumphs in
all three formats of
the game against Sri Lanka in
the UAE, Pakistan will be eyeing
a comprehensive win against
Bangladesh in Dhaka on
Tuesday when they open a
month-long tour with a one-
off Twenty20 International.
Pakistan landed in Dhaka just a
day after beating better-
ranked Sri Lanka in the three-
match series (1-0) and five-
match One-day International
series (4-1) before winning
their one-off Twenty20 game
in Abu Dhabi last Friday.
Compared to Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh are likely to be
easier opponents but the
Pakistanis are wary of the
threat their lower-ranked hosts
can pose at time to visiting
teams. Misbah-ul-Haq, the
Pakistan captain, has warned
his players against taking
Bangladesh for granted. "It
would be a big folly on our
part to think we can walk over
Bangladesh. We are playing a
full series in Bangladesh after a
long time and I have told the
players to treat the series as a
top ones because there will be
lot of pressure on us," said the
seasoned batsman ahead of
the series-opening Twenty20
encounter. However, the fact is
that Pakistan will begin the
match as overwhelming
favorites. They have a hundred
percent record against
Bangladesh having won all the
four Twenty20 Internationals
played between the two
teams. While Pakistan, who
won the World Twenty20 title
in England in 2009 are one of
the top teams in the fastest
format of the game,
Bangladesh have never beaten
a top-flight team other than
West Indies in this T20 cricket.
The good news for
Bangladeshi supporters is that
the home team thrashed West
Indies in a similar tour-opening
Twenty20 game recently.
"West Indies were favorites
against us as we don't usually
play Twenty20s. At the end of
the day, we bowled well and
despite a hiccup in batting we
finished as winners," said
Mushfiqur Rahim, the
Bangladesh captain. Rahim
warned Pakistan that his team
will go all out for a win against
them in the series. "I think
Bangladesh cricket has crossed
that barrier where we aim for
a respectable loss against a big
team," Mushfiqur said. "That
mentality is not there within
this group of players. We play
to win every game against
whichever team. "They're the
favorites no doubt but if we
play our best cricket, it won't
be easy to beat us in any of
the formats,” he stressed.
Pakistan (likely): Mohammad
Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Asad
Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain),
Umar Akmal (wk), Shoaib Malik,
Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir,
Aizaz Cheema, Umar Gul, and
Saeed Ajmal. Bangladesh
(likely): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul
Kayes, Alok Kapali, Shakib Al
Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim
(captain & wk), Mahmudullah,
Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam,
Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain,
and Shafiul Islam.
by their series-
winning triumphs in
all three formats of
the game against Sri Lanka in
the UAE, Pakistan will be eyeing
a comprehensive win against
Bangladesh in Dhaka on
Tuesday when they open a
month-long tour with a one-
off Twenty20 International.
Pakistan landed in Dhaka just a
day after beating better-
ranked Sri Lanka in the three-
match series (1-0) and five-
match One-day International
series (4-1) before winning
their one-off Twenty20 game
in Abu Dhabi last Friday.
Compared to Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh are likely to be
easier opponents but the
Pakistanis are wary of the
threat their lower-ranked hosts
can pose at time to visiting
teams. Misbah-ul-Haq, the
Pakistan captain, has warned
his players against taking
Bangladesh for granted. "It
would be a big folly on our
part to think we can walk over
Bangladesh. We are playing a
full series in Bangladesh after a
long time and I have told the
players to treat the series as a
top ones because there will be
lot of pressure on us," said the
seasoned batsman ahead of
the series-opening Twenty20
encounter. However, the fact is
that Pakistan will begin the
match as overwhelming
favorites. They have a hundred
percent record against
Bangladesh having won all the
four Twenty20 Internationals
played between the two
teams. While Pakistan, who
won the World Twenty20 title
in England in 2009 are one of
the top teams in the fastest
format of the game,
Bangladesh have never beaten
a top-flight team other than
West Indies in this T20 cricket.
The good news for
Bangladeshi supporters is that
the home team thrashed West
Indies in a similar tour-opening
Twenty20 game recently.
"West Indies were favorites
against us as we don't usually
play Twenty20s. At the end of
the day, we bowled well and
despite a hiccup in batting we
finished as winners," said
Mushfiqur Rahim, the
Bangladesh captain. Rahim
warned Pakistan that his team
will go all out for a win against
them in the series. "I think
Bangladesh cricket has crossed
that barrier where we aim for
a respectable loss against a big
team," Mushfiqur said. "That
mentality is not there within
this group of players. We play
to win every game against
whichever team. "They're the
favorites no doubt but if we
play our best cricket, it won't
be easy to beat us in any of
the formats,” he stressed.
Pakistan (likely): Mohammad
Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Asad
Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain),
Umar Akmal (wk), Shoaib Malik,
Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir,
Aizaz Cheema, Umar Gul, and
Saeed Ajmal. Bangladesh
(likely): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul
Kayes, Alok Kapali, Shakib Al
Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim
(captain & wk), Mahmudullah,
Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam,
Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain,
and Shafiul Islam.
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