DHAKA: With wins in previous games both Bangladesh and Pakistan must be fairly confident going into the 8th Match of the Asia Cup 2016 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Wednesday (March 2).

Bangladesh, however, will miss the services of in-form left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman in the crucial match. He sustained a side strain and Tamim Iqbal has been named as his replacement.

Pakistan, after a lackluster show against India, bounced back against UAE although there were some concerns still regarding their top-order.

Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis had conceded that it was a spot of bother. But the good form of Mohammad Amir has meant that the bowling unit looks far more potent.

The pace-group consisting of Amir, Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Sami are likely to feature once again against Bangladesh.

However, Pakistan’s spin attack does not quite possess the same teeth. Shahid Afridi looked far from threatening in the two games, and it is his form that will concern Pakistan a bit. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz failed to make an impact on debut and could well be replaced by Imad Wasim.

Bangladesh will welcome the return of Tamim Iqbal who is coming back from a paternity leave. It will lease Tigers’ batting issues in the opening slot.

Sabbir Rahman played a gem against Sri Lanka while ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan also spent some time in the middle. The latter in particular will have to fire soon for Bangladesh to make an impact in the match.

The win against Sri Lanka puts Tigers in good stead to up the ante against Pakistan. That win, notwithstanding, Bangladesh have done well against Pakistan in recent times.

Only last year, Bangladesh managed a clean-sweep against Pakistan in the limited over-series, winning all three One-Day Internationals, and the lone T20I.

Those losses will be fresh in the minds of Pakistan, as much as it will be for the hosts. For Afridi's men, the maturity shown by Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal against UAE was a definite improvement from their spectacular collapse against India. If the top order starts firing as well, they will be a hard team to beat in any condition, given their bowling attack.

The man in focus will once again be Amir. After a three-wicket burst in the first game against India, he turned out a miserly spell against UAE, conceding only six runs in his four overs. He's quickly transforming into the lead strike-bowler of Pakistan team.

After the first few games, the tracks in Mirpur have started to lose their shades of green. There has even been enough assistance for the spinners in the last couple of games.

This will also mean that both teams will be looking at spin as a strike-force once again. Bangladesh might pip for a spinner to replace Mustafizur instead of a four-pronged pace attack.

It will be a crucial tie for both teams as the race to the final heats up. Bangladesh bagged two wins while Pakistan have one.

Bangladesh Squad: Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Abu Hider, Arafat Sunny, Mohammad Mithun (Wk), Nurul Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Al-Amin Hossain

Pakistan Squad: Anwar Ali, Khurram Manzoor, Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Amir, Imad Wasim, Shahid Afridi (C), Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Sami, Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Iftikhar Ahmed

Source: cricbuzz

BDST: 2238 HRS, MAR 01, 2016
SR