Pakistan look to raise their game as Bangladesh target quick series win

Bangladesh played a flawless game in the first ODI, and Pakistan, who fielded four debutant batters there, might want to bring Haris Rauf in to strengthen their bowling attack

Mohammad Isam

Published: Mar 12, 2026, 8:42 AM (2 hrs ago)

Big picture: How will Pakistan respond?

Ahead of the ODI series between Bangladesh and Pakistan, much of the anticipation was around Pakistan's new names as they looked to rebuild with the ODI World Cup lined up next year.

In the first ODI on Wednesday, Pakistan fielded four debutant batters in Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Shamyl Hussain and Abdul Samad. The batting, however, collapsed in the face of Nahid Rana's hostile spell, the fast bowler finishing with career-best figures of 5 for 24.

Nahid, who carries the threat of pace and bounce, mixed his lengths up and caught the Pakistan batters napping. Even the experienced Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha fell to Nahid's perfect execution. Pakistan were bowled out for 114, their lowest total batting first against Bangladesh, and now face a must-win match on Friday.

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With a meagre total to defend, Pakistan's bowlers lacked discipline and conceded 14 wides. Bangladesh won by eight wickets in hand and 209 balls to spare. That gave them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, and a chance to win back-to-back ODI series against Pakistan after having swept them 3-0 the last time they played one - way back in 2015!

Bangladesh will also be pleased with their captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz bagging three wickets, as he has been under fire for his lack of performance in ODIs. It was a timely contribution for the team too, with Bangladesh at times guilty of giving away good starts. Everything seemed to go Bangladesh's way, in fact, with Tanzid Hasan flaying 67* off 42 balls in the chase.

Pakistan have a lot of catching up to do after Bangladesh's flawless day. They had a forgettable start in their journey towards 2027, but will hope their new names and the experienced ones like Rizwan, Agha and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi can help them pull one back.

Form guide

Bangladesh: WWLWL (last five matches, most recent first)

Pakistan: LWWWW

In the spotlight: Tanzid Hasan and Faheem Ashraf

Tanzid Hasan was in great form in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, but didn't get to the big platform, with Bangladesh expelled from the tournament. But he struck plenty of runs in the two domestic tournaments last month, before launching seven fours and five sixes against Pakistan on Wednesday. Tanzid struck the ball sweetly against the seamers, and slammed the spinners down the ground several times. He will hope for another good day.

Amid Pakistan's disastrous batting on Wednesday, their top-scorer was Faheem Ashraf with 37 runs from No. 8. He already has good memories of Dhaka. Last July, he nearly single-handedly took Pakistan to victory in a T20I with 51 off 32 balls at the same venue. With Pakistan's batting lacking experience, there's a case for them to promote Faheem in the order and hope he can hold it together for them.

Team news: Will Haris Rauf play?

Bangladesh will look to play the same side that crushed Pakistan in the first ODI, especially if the second game is held on a similar pitch.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Saif Hassan, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Litton Das (wk), 5 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 6 Towhid Hridoy, 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Nahid Rana, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pakistan might not panic just yet despite playing four debutant batters in the first ODI and seeing their batting fall apart. But with quick Mohammad Wasim conceding 24 runs in 3.1 overs in the first ODI, they could look to replace him with Haris Rauf to strengthen their pace attack on Friday.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Maaz Sadaqat, 3 Shamyl Hussain, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Salman Agha, 6 Hussain Talat, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), 10 Mohammad Wasim/Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed

Pitch and conditions

Bangladesh asked Pakistan to bat first in the series opener, and their fast bowlers feasted on a bouncy Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch. If the surface is similar on Friday, the Pakistan quicks will want to exploit it in their bid to level the series. However, like in the first ODI, there is rain forecast for Friday, although it remained clear for the short duration of the game on Wednesday.

Stats and trivia

Rana's 5 for 24 is Bangladesh's best against Pakistan in ODIs. With that haul, he also doubled his ODI tally from five to ten wickets.

Pakistan's 114 is their lowest all-out total against Bangladesh. Their previous lowest was 161 in Northampton in the 1999 World Cup.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84

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