“We [will] The first bowl actually, as a matter of fact before the game in the team, two players were injured, Shamail Hussain was injured, Hussain Talaz was injured, the last game, so the shoulder bone was broken. Wasim Jr. is resting so he is gone again. So we decided to just like, you know, go for a team and hope we bowl well and take two wickets. (Did the weather affect the decision?) Yes, that’s why we picked one because the conditions are looking good now and it will rain again later and hopefully we can take our wicket and restrict them. So the two debutants are also very good batsmen – Ghazi Ghori debuted and Saad Masood also debuted. So I hope for their performance and support them. Three changes, two new debutants,” Shaheen said at the toss.
Bangladesh captain Mehdi Hasan Miraz said his team is confident of putting up a competitive total and backing its bowling attack to defend it.
“I am happy because the wicket is looking good. I think we are confident. In the last two matches we have bowled well but still I believe if we get this score, it is definitely a very good score on this wicket. Yes, definitely. I think we always talk about the best batting unit. You have to take responsibility, if we bat in the top order and the middle order batsmen have to score runs. I think the most important thing is that You have to partner with the top order – and certainly we can defend that.”
According to the pitch report, the match is being played at the level which hosted the first international match at the venue. The pitch has significantly less grass, although recent thunderstorms have left some deep patches which can make it a bit tricky early on. A gusty breeze is expected to dry the surface, helping the bowlers in the first 10 overs before it settles into a good batting track.
“Going to the pitch that’s been used in internationals before. If you look at the surface itself, it’s very little grass. There’s no grass cover, but because there was a thunderstorm the other night, you can see a little bit of black spots here. It can be a bit difficult, you know, sometimes, it’s still very strong, in the first breeze or early drying. So, I think we’ve already decided to bowl on this surface, So the way you curators have worked, has Pakistan’s score reached 350 in this series, so if no one takes a sporting wicket, Khan
Teams
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Moaz Sadaqat, Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Rizwan (W), Salman Agha, Abdul Samad, Faheem Ashraf, Saad Masood, Shaheen Afridi (capt), Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Saif Hasan, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najam Hussain Shanto, Latin Das, Toheed Hardoy, Afif Hussain, Mehdi Hasan Miraz (captain), Rashad Hussain, Tasin Ahmad, Mustafizur Rehman, Naheed Rana.
