A 200+ run score was expected at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and 43 runs from their last three overs helped Pakistan get there just in the nick of time, before Bangladesh were again exposed for their dearth of boundary hitting options. It’s no secret they are at their best defending low totals, just as they did so well at last year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, so they need to bring this next match back into their wheelhouse.
That’s going to be mightily tough without some of their best fast bowlers, particularly as their two junior spinners Shamim Hossain and Rashid Hossain combined for eight-over figures of 2-86 after being on the wrong end of Pakistan’s death overs onslaught, but there were some green shoots to be encouraged by.
Playing out an entire T20I series at the one venue is no longer an unfamiliar concept these days and it can often favour the touring side as they become more adapted to the surrounding conditions, though a five-day series leaves Bangladesh with almost no time to put new plans into practice on the training track.
Why Pakistan can win
With 201 runs and ten wickets to their names, it was a formidable all-round performance with several notable contributions from a top and middle order that has subscribed to the new way of playing T20I cricket in Pakistan.
Captain Salman Agha (56), his deputy Shadab Khan (48), wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris (31) and 22-year-old Hasan Nawaz (44) all scored at rates of 9.8 runs per over or better and accounted for all but one of Pakistan’s 28 boundaries, accounting the multiple threats they have at their disposal in this current lineup.
It was especially encouraging to see that Pakistan’s batters didn’t retreat into their shells at the fall of a wicket as may have happened in the past, especially when being two-down in the second over would previously necessitate a slow rebuilding phase.
Above all else, perhaps Pakistan’s most compelling reason they can win this match is an unbeaten 16-0 record against Bangladesh in both white ball formats on home soil.
Why Bangladesh can win
So if the tourists are going to break that duck at the 17th time of asking and deny Pakistan their first three-game winning streak at home since 2021, more of their batters are going to have to establish a footing in their innings.
Litton Das and Jaker Ali were both able to overcome slow starts to post respectable strike rates of 160 and 180 respectively, but Towhid Hridoy soaked up 22 balls for just 17 runs without any fluency and his teammates made no noteworthy contribution.
The most noticeable disruption to the balance of their T20I lineup is the absence of a top-order batter who can send down four reliable overs, and as a result it means they have to contend with either a shallow batting order (for example, number seven Rishad Hossain averages just 10.90 with the bat in all T20s) or five bowling options.
The dew conspired against them in Sharjah recently, but just five months ago in more favourable conditions they improved with every passing to sweep the West Indies 3-0 at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground. That is recent evidence of their ability to improve throughout an away series as familiarity grows.
Venue and conditions
Despite the matches starting 30 minutes later than scheduled to avoid the worst of the afternoon, Lahore’s gripping heatwave was still felt on Wednesday and this game won’t escape uncomfortable heat either.
There’ll be no chance of rain or respite throughout the evening.
Player stats
• Shadab Khan has not taken 2+ wickets in consecutive home T20Is since 2018 (20 matches)
• Towhid Hridoy averages just 13.50 (54/4) in all cricket against Pakistan’s last bowling attack
• Liton Das averages 58 in white ball internationals against those same six bowlers, being dismissed twice by Shadab Khan (2-70) and not by any others (0-46)
• Mahedi Hasan has bowled 2.1 overs to Saim Ayub in all T20s for figures of 2-7
• Shoriful Islam’s 2.3 overs to Khushdil Shah in all T20s returned 2-23