Bangladesh elect to bowl first against Pakistan in first T20

Bangladesh Sunday elected to bowl first after winning the toss against Pakistan during the first Twenty20 match of the series in Mirpur.

Bangladesh had its ups and downs in cricket, but they're coming into this series with a big win! They just beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in their T20I series last week, which was their first-ever series win against them. The home team have kept the same squad for this series. Shak Mahedi and Tanzid Hasan are in great form, especially spinner Shak Mahedi, who has taken the most wickets in the Powerplay in T20Is since January 2021. And good news for Bangladesh fans: Captain Litton Das is back to scoring runs after a fantastic series in Sri Lanka. Litton Das mentioned yesterday during the trophy unveiling session that he expects a fair contest on a good pitch this time, unlike in 2021, when the pitches were very difficult for batters. He believes it will be an "even game."

Pakistan's team have some new faces this time around, with Ahmed Daniyal, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem, Hasan Nawaz, and Abbas Afridi joining the squad. Unfortunately, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf are out due to injuries. Many of these new players had a fantastic run in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) back in May, so it'll be interesting to see how they perform on the international stage. Pakistan's camp must be feeling good about their chances, especially since they have a strong record against Bangladesh, having won 19 out of 22 matches. They also recently beat Bangladesh 3-0 in Lahore last month, and they'll be looking to keep that winning streak going. Their captain has promised fearless cricket earlier, and we expect them to play just as aggressively today after assessing the pitch.

Squads:

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (capt), Mohammad Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Abbas Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed

Bangladesh: Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das (capt & wk), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman