Pakistan and Bangladesh to battle it out in high stakes game

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Pakistan and Bangladesh are now in a tight corner with regards to qualification in the next round of the T20 World Cup.

India and South Africa look poised to qualify with upcoming matches against the Zimbabwe and Netherlands, but surprises are not uncommon in T20 cricket and any mistakes by India or South Africa could greatly boost qualification hopes for Pakistan and Bangladesh. While Bangladesh has failed to make a mark at T20 events, their conclusive wins against the Netherlands and Zimbabwe, and gutsy performance against India, have raised expectations.

The match between Pakistan and Bangladesh is thus crucial as the winner has a chance of progressing to the semis, should India or South Africa lose their upcoming matches. Since South Africa’s match will precede the Pakistan-Bangladesh match, if they lose to the Netherlands then the latter promises to be a high-octane clash.

For now, Pakistan and Bangladesh must focus on the match ahead and win the two points up on offer, while they hope for the other matches to turn out favourably. Pakistan have slipped up in some tight fixtures but were able to defeat both the Netherlands and South Africa, which have reinforced collective belief in the team’s ability to stage a comeback. Furthermore, with Babar Azam suffering a temporary slump in form, Pakistan’s middle order batters have been making a mark in recent weeks.

If Azam can regain his form, it will provide a crucial boost to Pakistan’s match against Bangladesh, who faced each other recently in New Zealand. The two teams will thus battle it out to win the match and the two points that come with it, while anticipating a larger win based on the performances of other teams.