Fresh
from an emphatic 4-1 triumph in the recently-concluded one-day series against Sri
Lanka in the UAE, Pakistan begins
the opening game at the Shere-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur (a suburb of
Dhaka) as hands down favorite.
With a
stronger batting lineup and a potent bowling attack, perhaps the only two
factors that can stop the rampaging Pakistanis from victory in the series
opener are either a complacent attitude from the visitors or some really good
performances by the home players.
Meanwhile,
another talking point ahead of the first ODI is the tricky Mirpur wicket.
Misbah-ul-Haq,
the Pakistan captain, termed it as a ‘difficult’ pitch after his team beat
Bangladesh by 50 runs in the tour-opening T20 game on Tuesday night.
"I
think it was a difficult wicket to bat on," Misbah said. "There were
some loose patches and the ball was just bouncing and turning and I think
scoring 135 runs on this wicket was good enough.
"If
you consider the wicket, I think the batsmen did a pretty good job for the way
they got the start. There was a little tremble in the middle overs, which cut
down the score by 10 to 12 runs. Scoring 140 or 150 would have been a brilliant
job," he stressed.
"I
think the game and the crowd demands more batting wickets for the game to
become more entertaining. But I think these matters are not under the control
of the players. We are professionals and should respect whatever wicket we
get."
Meanwhile,
there was good news for the home fans on Wednesday as it is expected that
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal will be fit to play Wednesday’s match.
Tamim
had to sit out of the Twenty20 game at the last minute because of a knee
injury. However Bangladesh coach Stuart Law said the knee had "responded
well to the treatment and at this point it looks that he (Tamim) can take his
place in the top order.”
Though
the Mirpur track has drawn a lot of flak, Law doesn’t think that the pitch was
the reason why Bangladesh were bowled out for a paltry 85 on Tuesday.
In fact
he blamed his batters for the poor showing.
"There
has to be some self blame in there as well," Law said. "We have to be
able to score runs under difficult conditions to be able to beat good teams
around the world."
