Pakistan will be facing Bangladesh in the second Test on Wednesday, the last match of the tour, at Mirpur in a battle of the minds.
The resilient and well-balanced Bangladesh side have given Pakistan a tough time throughout the tour but the visitors have to make sure they claim the final frontier in order to stay at number three in the Test rankings, courtesy West Indies’ win against England in the final Test to draw the three-match Test series 1-1.
As the players take to the field at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, touted as ‘the home of Bangladesh Cricket’, Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq has to reassure the world that they are without any doubt deserving of the high ranking in Tests as opposed to a slump to ninth in the ODIs.
In the first Test, Pakistan displayed sheer batting class with a score of 628 in reply to Bangladesh’s 332 riding on the back of all-rounder Muhammad Hafeez’s double century, but Bangladesh’s equally potent reply with Tamim Iqbal hitting 206 alongside Imrul Kayes’ 150 took the shine off the men in green’s heroics.
Pakistan’s Avengers
The Hulk of the Pakistani team — Misbah — who can jump from neutral to the highest gear possible, has a very important job at hand when it comes to the upcoming encounter against Bangladesh. The Test captain has to prepare his team for a war, setting for nothing except a win. It is an avenge mission for the men in green. He needs to carve out a victory in the face of adversity to bolster the confidence of the players and the hopes of Pakistan cricket fans.
Captain America — Azhar Ali — has to boast his leadership skills for which he was raised to the helm in ODIs with the bat and to help Misbah execute his plans in the longer format.
Ironman — Wahab Riaz — also needs to show he is less talk and more action when he takes to the field with the ball in his hand. He needs to step out of the trance of his World Cup heroics and understand he is back to the sub-continent.
Hawkeye — Younus Khan — needs to score more runs in order to show the youngsters that they are being backed by the veterans. He needs to use his experience and inch-perfect shot execution to give Pakistan hope. As a senior member of the team, he also needs to help Misbah plan and re-plan in order to salvage a win.
Thor — Sarfraz Ahmed — will have a role to play behind the wickets and down the order in batting when Pakistan need some power hitting.
Meanwhile, Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar, who have shown imminent potential with their own battle skills, need to rise to the occasion as ‘The Vision’ for the Pakistan team. If both, or either of the two, are given another go in the second Test, which is probable owing to the history of Pakistan in lacking the urge to take risks and experiment with newcomers in such demanding situations, they ought to put up a show against the seemingly unbeatable Bengali Tigers.
But there is another contender for the post of The Vision, the surreal master of spin bowling — Saeed Ajmal. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, while training in Mirpur, Ajmal confessed that "Bangladesh are at the top of their form" but also showed a very stark glimpse of hope saying, "I am doing my best to get myself back on track as soon as possible. I am bowling with different angles from top and from side and things are improving and I am optimistic that I will be same Ajmal as I was."
Will he be able to spin the same magic after his rebirth with a re-modeled action, still remains questionable but if he can, there are few better than him to bring back the glory days.
The stage is set for the final clash. A lot is at stake when Pakistan take to the field against Bangladesh; the hopes of millions of cricket fans in Pakistan and the future of cricket in the country. The hosts are more than ready to claim a historic win in the second Test but there is hope for the men in green, there is always hope when they are cornered.
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ