ICC World Cup 2023, PAK vs BAN: Shakib Al Hasan wins the toss and chooses to bat first

Babar Azam, Shakib Al Hasan (Pic: File Pic)

ICC World Cup 2023 match between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be played in Kolkata's Eden Gardens. Both the teams are struggling in the ICC World Cup 2023. The 'Green Shirts' and the 'Bengal Tigers' are in the seventh and ninth position in the points table.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan have won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023, PAK vs BAN: Here's all you need to know

Azam and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Rizwan will aim to stand strong in the middle to make Pakistan win, which will boost their confidence for the remaining matches.

Squads:

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Kumer Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam.

The Afghan resurgence
The ICC World Cup 2023 match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan was played at Pune's Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sri Lanka.

Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne opened the innings for the 'Lions'. None of the Lankan batsmen were able to score huge runs against the Afghan bowling line-up except Nissanka. He scored 46 runs before giving away his wicket to Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Sri Lanka set a target of 242 runs for Afghanistan to chase down.

Gurbaz who opened the innings with Ibrahim Zadran for Afghanistan was dismissed for a duck. The remaining batsmen scored decent runs and took Afghanistan to a dominating win by seven wickets. Rashid Khan who was playing his 100th ODI match picked one wicket.