Confident Bangladesh look to dismantle Pakistan in Test Series

Confident Bangladesh look to dismantle Pakistan in Test Series: After a humiliating whitewash in the ODI series and the lone Twenty20 encounter against Pakistan, hosts Bangladesh have set their sights on the two match Test series that begins in Khulna tomorrow. Bangladesh will look to continue their impressive performances from the limited overs leg of the tour to the test formats while Pakistan will look to put up some decent show after their old warhorses Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan come into the side.

Now Pakistan’s 8-0 winning streak (14 years) against Bangladesh in Test Cricket is under a serious threat as Bangladesh registered their first ODI win, ODI series win and their first Twenty20 win against Pakistan in the ongoing tour. Now the onus will be on skipper Misbah and experienced batsman Younis Khan to change the mood in the Pakistan camp.

Pakistan will rely on their batsmen to do the job for them. Sami Aslam will open the innings with Mohammad Hafeez followed by an experienced middle-order that has the current ODI skipper Azhar Ali, Younis, Misbah and talented batsman Asad Shafiq, who warmed the benches in the ODI series. They will also have Sarfraz Ahmed walking in at number 7. Sarfraz had an excellent 2014 and will look to continue his form in this year too. On the bowling front, Wahab Riaz will share the new ball with Junaid Khan while the spin department will be taken charge by Saeed Ajmal and Zulfiqar Babar. Ajmal is yet to take a wicket with his new action and still will be preferred ahead of Yasir Shah.

On the other hand, Bangladesh will look to go in with a revamped test squad. In-form opener Tamim Iqbal will open the innings with Imrul Kayes, who scored a century in Bangladesh’s last test when they played Zimbabwe in 2014. Tamim’s opening partner in ODIs, Soumya Sarkar will be batting at number 7 as Mominul Haque, who has a Test average of over 60 will bat at number 3 followed by their most experienced batsmen Mahmudullah, Shakib-al-Hasan and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim. Rubel Hossain will lead the bowling attack along with Shahadat Hossain, Jubair Hossain and Taijul Islam.

Weather Report: The meteorological department in Khulna has predicted showers for the first four days of the Test.

Pitch Report: The pitch will assist the spinners and batting will be difficult as the match goes on.

Line ups:

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Taijul Islam, Jubair Hossain, Rubel Hossain and Shahadat Hossain.

Pakistan: Sami Aslam, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal and Zulfiqar Babar