PAK vs BAN match today: Pakistan must win to maintain hopes of semi-finals

PAK vs BAN match today: Pakistan must win to maintain hopes of semi-finals

Pakistan will face Bangladesh today in the 31st match of ODI World Cup 2023. The match will be played at Eden Garden Stadium, Kolkata from 2:00 pm onwards. The toss will take place at 1:30 p.m.

If the Pakistan team, which has lost four consecutive matches, has to maintain its hopes of reaching the semi-finals, then it will have to win this match at any cost. Pakistan team is currently in seventh position with 4 points from 6 matches with 2 wins and 4 losses. At the same time, Bangladesh team is in ninth position with 2 points in 6 matches with only 1 win and 5 losses. Bangladesh is already out of the race for the semi-finals.

Bangladesh has a chance to defeat Pakistan in the ODI World Cup after 24 years. The team won for the first and last time in the 1999 World Cup. After that a match was played in 2019, when Pakistan won.

Pakistan lost four consecutive matches after initial two wins

Pakistan had a good start in this World Cup. The team defeated Netherlands by 81 runs in its first match and Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the second match. But, as the tournament progressed, the team's performance became extremely disappointing.

The team had to face defeat in the last four matches. Out of the first six matches, two were won and four were lost. The team reached number 7 in the points table with four points.

On the other hand, the condition of Bangladesh is worse than Pakistan. He won only one of the first six matches and lost five. Bangladesh team's only win in the tournament was against Afghanistan in the first match. The team is in ninth place with 2 points, just above England.

head-to-head

Bangladesh's ODI record against Pakistan is very bad. A total of 38 ODIs have been played between the two teams so far. Pakistan won 33 matches and Bangladesh won only 5 matches. In the World Cup, both the teams have clashed twice so far, Pakistan won in 1 and Bangladesh in 1.

If Pakistan team wins today's match, it will be its third consecutive win against Bangladesh in ODIs. If Bangladesh wins then it will win against Pakistan after five years. Bangladesh's last win against Pakistan was in the Asia Cup played in 2018. After that, two matches were played between the two teams and Pakistan team won both of them.

The last time both the teams faced each other was in the Asia Cup when Pakistan won by 7 wickets.

One century and one half-century in the name of Rizwan

Mohammad Rizwan is Pakistan's top run scorer in the ODI World Cup 2023. He has scored 333 runs in 6 matches of the tournament. He also has a century and a half-century to his name. Whereas Abdullah Shafiq is in second position, he has scored 264 runs in five matches. Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has taken the maximum 13 wickets for the team.

Mahmudullah Riyad has scored a century

Mahmudullah Riyad has scored the most runs for Bangladesh in the tournament. He has one century to his name. He is the only Bangladeshi who has a century in his name in this tournament. Among the bowlers, Shoriful Islam has taken 8 wickets, he is the top wicket-taker of the team in the current season of the World Cup.

Pitch Report

Kolkata's wicket is batting-friendly. The second match of the tournament will be played in the stadium. The Netherlands and Bangladesh match was played on this ground.

So far 32 ODI matches have been played on this ground, in which the team batting first has won 19 matches and the team batting later has won 12 matches. One match was no result. The average total in the first inning is 301 runs.

The highest team score is 404 which was made by India against Sri Lanka in 2014. The lowest team score is 123 which was made by West Indies against India in 1993.

Weather Report

The weather will be clear in Kolkata on 31st October. There is a 1% chance of rain. During this period the wind speed will be 9 kilometers per hour. The temperature can range from 23 to 33 degrees Celsius.

Possible playing -11 of both the teams

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehdi Hasan Miraj, Sheikh Mehdi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman.