GameDay Squad Cricket Match Preview: Bangladesh come up against Pakistan in the 31st match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Kolkata on the 31st of October.
Bangladesh played Netherlands in their sixth match of the CWC, and Netherlands won by 87 runs. Netherlands won the toss and elected to field first. Bangladesh were off to a great start with the ball as they had the Dutch in all sorts of trouble in the 3rd over with the score at 4/2. Bangladesh continued to make it difficult for the Dutch batsmen to score runs and they were able to pick up wickets frequently. Bangladesh managed to restrict Netherlands to 229 at the end of the 50 overs. Bangladesh lost two early wickets to start their run chase and continued to lose them frequently. The Dutch bowlers bowled well, and Bangladesh were all out for 142 in the 43rd.
The top performers in GDS for Bangladesh were.
Mustafizur Rahman – 122 points
Taskin Ahmed – 98 points
Shakib Al Hasan – 91 points
Mahedi Hasan – 80 points
Shoriful Islam – 75 points
Pakistan played South Africa in their sixth match of the CWC, and South Africa won by 1 wicket. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan was off to a shaky start and were 38/2 in the 7th over. They found it hard to put decent partnerships together against the South African bowling attack. They had some good moments with the bat but every time it looked like they might be getting the upper hand, they would lose another wicket. Pakistan was all out in the 47th over for 270. South Africa were off to a very fast start in the run chase before de Kock was dismissed in the 4th over with the score at 34. Pakistan was able to make regular breakthroughs but found it difficult to increase the required run rate. South Africa looked to be cruising through to victory with the score at 206/4 in the 34th over but then Afridi and Rauf started to take wickets. Suddenly South Africa found themselves 260/9 in the 46th over. Unfortunately for Pakistan, they were unable to take the last wicket and South Africa made it to the target of 271 in the 48th over.
The top performers in GDS for Pakistan were.
Mohammad Wasim – 106 points
Shaheen Afridi – 100 points
Babar Azam – 80 points
Saud Shakeel – 75 points
Haris Rauf – 75 points
Eden Gardens & Pitch Information
There have only been two ODIs here in 2023, one was in January between India and Sri Lanka and the most recent was Bangladesh vs Netherlands a couple of days ago. The pitches at Eden Gardens historically tend to be batter friendly but the totals for the two recent matches have been low. Sri Lanka scored 215 and Netherlands 229. However, the totals in the IPL have been high. In the Bangladesh vs Netherlands match, there were 18 wickets taken by the bowlers. Seam bowlers took 13 and spinners took 5.
Pakistan vs Bangladesh predicted XIs
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq/Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Usama Mir, Mohammad Wasim/Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
Bangladesh: Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
Batters
The three batters that I am likely going to start will be Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel. Over the CWC these batters average the following points in GDS.
Abdullah Shafique – 70 points
Babar Azam – 50 points
Saud Shakeel – 47 points
In GDS there are eight players combined from Bangladesh and Pakistan that have the batter position designation. Six of these eight players are predicted to play, two from Bangladesh and four from Pakistan. Shafique and Azam are the first to be picked as they are the pick of the batsmen in this match in my opinion. In Shafique’s five innings over the CWC he has scored one 100 and two 50s. Azam doesn’t look far off a big score and has had three 50s in his last four innings. I’m leaning towards Shakeel as my third batter. I have him ranked above both the Bangladesh batters as neither of them average more than 25 points in GDS. I also have Shakeel ranked higher than ul-Haq and Zaman. Zaman has only played the one match this CWC due to a knee injury he has been dealing with since Pakistan’s second game, he is now fully fit. With ul-Haq struggling for form, there has been talk of Zaman replacing him at the top of the order. I have to say that I haven’t been overly impressed with Shakeel this CWC either, but I think he is the best starting option over the other three batters predicted to play.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining batters for Bangladesh and Pakistan in the following order. Imam-ul-Haq/Fakhar Zaman, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Tanzid Hasan.
All-Rounders
The four all-rounders that I am likely going to start will be Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahedi Hasan and Iftikhar Ahmed. Over the CWC these all-rounders average the following points in GDS.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz – 81 points
Shakib Al Hasan – 78 points
Mahedi Hasan – 104 points
Iftikhar Ahmed – 41 points
In GDS there are eight players combined from Bangladesh and Pakistan that have the all-rounder position designation. Six of these eight players are predicted to play, four from Bangladesh and two from Pakistan. Miraz, Al Hasan and Hasan are the first three all-rounders picked for me. Not only because they have a better average in GDS but also because I think they are likely to bowl most of their allocated overs. Also, Miraz and Al Hasan normally bat inside the top five of the Bangladesh batting order. This is great news from a fantasy point of view as they can quite easily contribute with both bat and ball. It’s a coin flip for me on the last all-rounder position that needs to be filled. I’m leaning the way of Ahmed as I think he may bowl more today with Khan and Nawaz set to miss this match. Mahmudullah has been very good with the bat, but he has only bowled five overs all CWC. He does average more than Ahmed but I prefer Ahmed due to him being more of a genuine all-rounder. Salman Ali Agha is set to make his first appearance of the CWC and is likely to replace the out of form Nawaz. He is more of a batting all-rounder and due to the lack of matches recently, he isn’t really on my radar for this match.
If you don’t have the suggested four players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining all-rounders for Bangladesh and Pakistan in the following order. Mahmudullah and Salman Ali Agha.
Bowlers
The three bowlers that I am likely going to start will be Mohammad Wasim/Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf. Over the CWC these bowlers average the following points in GDS.
Mohammad Wasim – 106 points
Hasan Ali – 72 points
Shaheen Shah Afridi – 84 points
Haris Rauf – 64 points
In GDS there are eleven players combined from Bangladesh and Pakistan that have the bowler position designation. Seven of these eleven players are predicted to play, three from Bangladesh and four from Pakistan. We saw the fast bowlers enjoy a lot of success at this ground in the Bangladesh vs Netherlands match. Afridi is the pick of the bowlers for me in today’s match. He’s taken 13 wickets in the CWC so far, including a five-wicket bag against Australia. If Wasim makes the Pakistan XI, I’ll be starting with him as well. Against South Africa, I thought he bowled well and think he can have success against the out of form Bangladesh top order if he’s selected. If he’s not selected and Ali comes back into the Pakistan side, Ali will be making my starting XI as well. I lean to Rauf as my third bowler as I think he has more of a chance to take more wickets against the Bangladesh batting line up than Islam or Ahmed do against the Pakistan batting line up.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining bowlers for Bangladesh and Pakistan in the following order. Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Usama Mir.
Wicket Keeper
The wicket keeper that I am likely going to start will be Mohammad Rizwan. Over the CWC these wicket keepers average the following points in GDS.
Litton Das – 40 points
Mushfiqur Rahim – 38 points
Mohammad Rizwan – 80 points
This was the easiest selection to make for this match in my opinion. The difference between these three keepers’ averages says it all really. Rizwan has been having great CWC and I believe he offers the higher ceiling out of the three. Both Das and Rahim have put in the odd decent knock but I don’t think either should be played ahead of Rizwan in this match.
If you don’t have the suggested player in your squad, I have ranked the remaining wicket keepers for Bangladesh and Pakistan in the following order. Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das.