Bangladesh put Pakistan into bat first in 1st ODI
Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz opted to field first after winning the toss in the opening match of the three-match ODI series against Pakistan national cricket team at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today. The hosts made a major change to the playing XI by dropping Soumya Sarkar, while Liton Das returned to the side and was slotted into the middle order. Afif Hossain was also included in the XI immediately after being recalled to the national squad for the series.
Several players, however, are missing from the squad that featured in Bangladesh's last ODI series against the West Indies national cricket team in October last year. "I think chasing at night is easier, so we decided to bowl first," Miraz said while explaining his decision at the toss. "We also have a very good bowling attack. If we can get early wickets in the first 10 overs, it will definitely help us. It's a great start and hopefully everyone is excited." Pakistan entered the series in strong form after beating the Sri Lanka national cricket team 3-0 in their previous ODI series. However, they have included several new players in the squad as part of their preparations for the 2027 World Cup.
The visitors handed debuts to three players in the first ODI. Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi said he had no problem batting first. "I would have loved to bat first on this track. The reason is that I don't want to put pressure on the debutants by asking them to chase," Shaheen said. "Let them bat freely and we will support them. I'm really excited to see them perform because they have done very well in domestic cricket." The two sides have met 39 times in ODI cricket so far, with Pakistan winning 34 matches and Bangladesh just five. In the last five encounters, Pakistan won three, Bangladesh won one, while one match was abandoned.
Bangladesh's last ODI victory against Pakistan came in 2018. However, the two sides also met in a three-match T20 series in Bangladesh last year, which the hosts won 2-1. Line Ups: Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Das(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz(c), Towhid Hridoy, Afif Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Shamyl Hussain, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Salman Agha, Hussain Talat, Abdul Samad, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi(c), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abrar Ahmed.
