Unchanged Pakistan opt to bat vs Bangladesh
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to bat first against Bangladesh in Match 43 of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 at Lord’s London on Friday.
Pakistan are unchanged while Bangladesh bring in fit-again Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan for Sabbir rahman and Rubel Hossain.
With Pakistan having to overcome an implausible mathematical equation to make it to the semi-finals, this game is as good as a dead rubber. For Bangladesh, it is a chance to end their rather decent campaign on a high and bid their ‘warrior’ skipper a perfect farewell at the home of cricket, if that is Mortaza decides to hang up the boots.
Sarfaraz Ahmed: We will bat first. Only chance we have is to bat first and put a big total on the board. So we will try our best. We are going with the same team, although we know that we need quick and big runs. It’s a long tournament and one game is different from the others. Unfortunate to be in this position but we will try our best.
Mashrafe Mortaza: I’d love to bat first on this wicket as it’s a used wicket. Have to bowl well and restrict them to a chaseable total. Mahmudullah and Mehidy are in for Sabbir and Rubel. We’ve been playing well against them but this is a fresh game and they’re a good side. They’re starting to take off in terms of momentum and we need to play well. Yes, it will be a good milestone for us if we manage to win four games in the World Cup. It is my final World Cup game and I will try my best.
Playing XI
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mustafizur Rahman
Pakistan (Playing XI): Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed(w/c), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi