Big picture: Will we get a proper contest this time?
After two one-sided matches left Bangladesh and Pakistan level at 1-1, the ODI series will now go in favour of the batting unit that does well a second time, or go against the unit that fails a second time. Being the home side, the onus is now on Bangladesh to put up an improved show, or be vanquished.
To its credit, the Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch hasn’t been full of surprises like it has been often in the past. There is proper bounce that the fast bowlers have exploited when they have bent their backs. The spinners haven’t found excessive spin, which has helped batters willing to play their shots.
Maaz Sadaqat and Sahibzada Farhan took advantage of the conditions and put together a 103-run opening stand in the second ODI, which set up the game for Pakistan. Salman Agha, in the main, and Mohammad Rizwan did the same later. Bangladesh just fell flat in response.
The 128-run defeat brought to the fore some uncomfortable truths about Bangladesh’s batting.
At no point did they look like organised. Even when the match was curtailed, only Litton Das’ aggression suited their cause, but it didn’t add up to much.
Saif Hassan has had two low scores in the top order. He can make do with lack of footwork in T20s, but longer formats demand better technique. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy must do more to bring stability to the middle order. Rishad Hossain not contributing with the bat often enough also means the lack of a genuine allrounder.
For Pakistan, it was much-needed improvement after the 114 all out in the first game. Their bowling also came off fine, especially with Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim complementing each other with several variations and better discipline than the first ODI.
The question for both teams is the same: which batting unit will show up on Sunday? The ones that added up to 114 (Pakistan in the first ODI and Bangladesh in the second) or the other ones?
Not to forget, will we have some needle after the Agha-Mehidy Hasan Miraz incident?
Form guide
Bangladesh LWWLW (Last five completed ODIs, most recent first
Pakistan WLWWW
In the spotlight: Rishad Hossain and Maaz Sadaqat
The stocks of legspinner Rishad Hossain rode further after another solid performance in the second ODI. Rishad took three wickets during Pakistan’s collapse, as he mixed his legspin and the googly, frequent changes of pace thrown in. But his batting hasn’t quite blossomed as expected since his breakout knock against Sri Lanka two years ago.
In the second ODI of his career, Maaz Sadaqat played a masterful 75 and then took three wickets to power Pakistan to the big win. He displayed a whole range of shots, the best being the belts down the ground and the flicks to deep square-leg against pace. Sadaqat’s bowling is also promising, as he often gets the ball to dip into the right-hand batters, before spinning away or zipping in.
Team news: Bangladesh could make a batting switch
Soumya Sarkar might be brought back to replace Saif. If they rotate among the fast bowlers, Shoriful Islam could get an opportunity.
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Saif Hassan/Soumya Sarkar, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Towhid Hridoy, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 5 Litton Das (wk), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Nahid Rana, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Pakistan will likely have to replace the injured Hussain Talat, with newcomer Ghazi Ghori stepping up in his place.
Pakistan (probable): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Maaz Sadaqat, 3 Shamyl Hussain, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Salman Agha, 6 Abdus Salam, 7 Ghazi Ghori, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), 10 Mohammad Wasim, 11 Haris Rauf
Pitch and conditions: Will they break the glass?
After going down by a big margin, will Bangladesh bring out another raging turner at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, or will they stick to the flat, bouncy tracks from the two ODIs so far? Meanwhile, there’s forecast of another thunderstorm like in the second game.