PAK vs BAN 2024, PAK vs BAN 1st Test Match Preview

Admin August 21, 2024

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PAK vs BAN 2024, PAK vs BAN 1st Test Match Preview

The big picture: An opportunity to fix

Pakistan are two places ahead of Bangladesh in the World Test Championship but both teams are in the lower division. And both are playing their first series since the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh crashed out of the Super Eight and Pakistan failed to even reach that stage, leaving both sets of fans disappointed with their performance. This test series will be an opportunity for correction. Fortunately, there has been a big gap since the World Cup, which will allow teams to play with a new perspective.

Given their record, Pakistan are clear favourites. Their captain Shan Masood has a new red-ball coach in Jason Gillespie. It is an interesting combination as they can look back on their recent matches to bring stability to Pakistan’s Test team.

Barring Aamer Jamal, Pakistan has all the first choice players available. In fact, they named their XI two days before the Test. They went with an all-pace attack at the Rawalpindi stadium, with Saim Ayub given another chance as the opener.

Bangladesh faced a different kind of challenge ahead of the series. They could not train in Dhaka, so the BCB took up the PCB’s invitation to train for three more days in Lahore before three more sessions in Rawalpindi. Although the coach of the Bangladesh team, Chandika Hathurusinghe, is satisfied with the preparation of his team, he remains cautious about his batting which has continued to decline for the past twelve months.

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is still out of form, while Litton Das, who Masood has called his favorite batsman in the Bangladesh side, has also struggled for a long time. That leaves senior batsmen Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque with a huge responsibility.

Pakistan, however, will not take Bangladesh lightly as the visitors’ in-form weapon is the pace attack. It might be difficult with experience but players like Khaled Ahmed and Shoriful Islam have done well with the new ball. Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana are also fast and energetic. So it will be an interesting battle against the home batsmen.

Form guide

Pakistan LLLWW (Last five tests, most recent)
Bangladesh LLLWW

Featured: Naseem Shah and Najmul Hossain Shanto

Those who saw Naseem Shah bowl in the four-dayer against Bangladesh A last week felt that he was beginning to resemble the red-ball bowler who last played in July 2023. His three wickets in the first innings included Mominul Haque and Anamul Haque, while in the second, he bowled seven overs at once. This was his only first-class outing in the last 12 months but Bangladesh know he will be a big threat. In their previous tour of Pakistan, he had rocked them with a hat-trick in the debut.

In 2023, Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 440 Test runs, including three hundreds, at an average of 55.00. But he managed only 32 in four innings against Sri Lanka earlier this year. He has struggled to find form in other formats as well. He has the added responsibility of being a captain but the practice of driving away from the body seems to bother him more. Can he show more discipline and provide Bangladesh with quality runs?

Team news: Shadman replaces injured Joy

Pakistan will go in with four fast bowlers. Saud Shakeel was appointed as the vice-captain.

Pakistan: 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Shan Masood (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Ali Agha, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Khurram Shahzad, 11 Mohammad Ali

Shadman Islam is likely to replace injured opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy, while Mushfiqur Rahim returns to the Test squad after missing the Sri Lanka series.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Zakir Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Litton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Khaled Ahmed, 11 Hasan Mahmud/Nahid Rana

Pitch and conditions: Rain can play spoilsport

The pitch has little grass but there is a strong belief that it can favor the batsmen. The last two Tests here have been high-scoring with teams posting totals of 657, 579, 476 on 4 dec, and 459 in their first innings. Rain, however, could play a major role as showers are predicted for all five days.

Stats and trivia: Bangladesh still to beat Pakistan

Bangladesh are yet to win the Test against Pakistan.
There are four players from the Bangladesh side who played their last Test in Pakistan, coincidentally also in Rawalpindi, in 2020.
Among the current players, Shakib (508) who scored the most runs in the Bangladesh-Pakistan Tests, and Taijul Islam (22), who will not play, got the most wickets.

Quotes

“We are raising our hands and saying we didn’t win in Australia. But there are many things we did well, there are many things we want to take forward. We made mistakes that cost us the Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. But as a team, we are heading in the right direction.”

Shan Masood in reverse against Bangladesh.

“We had a good series against New Zealand but not a good time against Sri Lanka. We have a very good chance this time against Pakistan. We have a balanced team. We hope to play good cricket here.”

Najmul Hossain Shanto his side in the last two Test series.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

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Admin August 21, 2024

0 0 4 minutes read