Bangladesh to Face Pakistan in Second T20 Today

Bangladesh will square off against the visiting Pakistan team in the second T20 match of the series today at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.

The match is set to begin at 6:00 PM and will be broadcast live on T Sports and Nagorik TV.

Historical Opportunity for Bangladesh

A win in today’s match will secure Bangladesh’s first-ever T20 series victory over Pakistan. The hosts are already one step closer to this milestone after an impressive seven-wicket victory in the opening game of the three-match series.

If Bangladesh clinch another win, they will bag their second-ever series win against a top-tier cricket nation, following their historic triumph in Sri Lanka just a few days ago.

A Look at the First Match

In the opening T20, Pakistan, who had previously swept Bangladesh in a three-match T20 series at home in May, struggled considerably. Their batting line-up was unable to handle the home side’s bowlers, who made full use of the conditions at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Pakistan were bowled out for a meagre 110 runs in 19.3 overs, a target that Bangladesh chased down comfortably with almost five overs to spare.

On a wicket where Pakistan’s batters faced considerable difficulty, Bangladesh’s batting was clinical, particularly opener Parvez Hossain Emon, who smashed an unbeaten 56 off 39 balls to guide his side to their fourth win in 23 meetings with Pakistan.

Bangladesh’s Stronghold at Sher-e-Bangla

Of Bangladesh’s four victories over Pakistan, three have come at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, a statistic that has given the team confidence ahead of the second match.

“We definitely know about the wicket because we’ve played a lot of cricket here in Mirpur. It’s not an easy wicket to bat on, but the way we batted in the first game, it looks good,” said Bangladesh captain Liton Das, adding that they are keen to continue the momentum in the second match.

Likely Line-Up for Bangladesh

Bangladesh is expected to stick with the same winning combination from the first match:

Pakistan’s Response

Pakistan is determined to bounce back in the series, with head coach Mike Hesson acknowledging their poor performance in the first match. He noted that their early momentum, courtesy of Fakhar Zaman, gave a false sense of security, as the conditions became more challenging later on.

“We got off to a little bit of a flyer. Fakhar Zaman played four or five shots, and it gave us a false indication about how the surface was playing,” said Hesson.

“We didn’t help ourselves through the middle overs. We chose some poor options, and when the ball started to nip through and bounce steeply, we didn’t assess that it was more challenging to play high-risk shots.”

Pakistan’s Likely Line-Up