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A shock ten-wicket victory for Bangladesh in the first Test has piled the pressure onto Shan Masood and Pakistan with nothing less than victory expected in Karachi, although even that may not be enough to avoid more wholesale changes down the line.
DATE/TIME: Friday 30th August 2024 – UK – 6:00am / India – 10:30am / US EST – 1:00am / Thursday 29th August 2024 – US PST – 10:00pm
VENUE: National Bank Cricket Arena, Karachi, Pakistan
WEATHER: A chance of thundery showers affecting both Days 1 and 2 but the rest of this Test should be completely dry and sunny with temperatures reaching over 30c.
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – TBA / India– Not Televised / US – Willow TV / Pakistan – A Sports & Ten Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – TBA / India – Not Streamed / US – Willow TV / Pakistan – Ten Sports website
PAKISTAN FORM: DEFEAT IN RAWALPINDI A NEW LOW FOR PAKISTAN
For Pakistan to lose in their own country to a fellow Asian nation in Test cricket by a margin of ten wickets is simply a nightmare outcome and really underlines the stark issues facing the hosts in the red ball game right now. Whether it be big-name players not performing, batting collapses or lack of bowling potency, it’s simply not good enough.
LAST FIVE: LLLLW
BANGLADESH FORM: TIGERS RECORD ANOTHER HISTORIC AWAY WIN
Less than a year after Bangladesh stunned New Zealand away from home by winning a Test match against the Black Caps, the Tigers were at it again here, this time in Pakistan. It was well-deserved as well following a magnificent bowling performance to take 20 wickets on a ground such as Rawalpindi, not to mention racking up 565 runs in their first innings. All this led to a simple Day 5 chase, which Bangladesh completed with no wickets lost.
LAST FIVE: WLLLW
PAKISTAN BETTING ANALYSIS
In a terrible first Test for the home side, wicket-keeper-batter Muhammad Rizwan at least showed his undoubted class. Batting at number six, Rizwan racked up an unbeaten 171 and also accumulated a half-century in the second innings despite batters falling all around him. To record 222 runs in a defeat underlines the quality of Rizwan and backing him to top score in the first innings of this second Test has to be favoured.
BANGLADESH BETTING ANALYSIS
Bettors could pick out a number of Bangladesh players to focus on following their respective showings in the first Test, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz stands out on the bowling front. He took five wickets across the match including a four-wicket-haul in the all-important third innings which saw Pakistan collapse to 146 all out and open the door for a Tigers victory. He could have a big role to play again here, so consider backing him to pick up over 4.5 match wickets in Karachi.
PAKISTAN VS BANGLADESH EXPERT PREDICTION
For Pakistan they simply cannot afford not to win this game. The expectation surely, is that we will see a far improved performance in all departments from the hosts, especially with so many players needing to answer a number of critics. The ground-staff in Karachi will have more than likely been ordered to prepare a ‘result pitch’ and despite potential rain, enough play should be managed over five days to find a winner.
Bangladesh have a golden opportunity here to make some history, but it’s difficult to believe we’ll see Pakistan perform as poorly as they did in Rawalpindi. The ramifications of failure are so big for all concerned that backing Pakistan to bounce back and win looks a shrewd play and should be seriously considered.
PAKISTAN VS BANGLADESH TIP: PAKISTAN TO WIN