DHAKA: Bangladesh are set to face Pakistan in the eighth match of Asia Cup 2016 at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday (March 2).
Teams are getting close to that stage of the Asia Cup when a place in the final is the only thing in their mind.
Tigers are ahead of them by two points after their wins over UAE and Sri Lanka, and will have a clearer path to the final if they can win this contest.
Pakistan, who opened their tournament against only qualifier United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday night after getting walloped by India.
The 20-over match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 local time (13:30 GMT)
Tamim Iqbal is returning to the XI, most likely in place of Mohammad Mithun, while Abu Hider could replace the injured Mustafizur Rahman.
According to cricinfo.com Pakistan could take out Khurram Manzoor and include Khalid Latif but there is unlikely to be any place for Anwar Ali, Iftekhar Ahmed or Imad Wasim.
In the last one year, he has scored thousand international runs. He has been our best at the top, so having someone of that calibre always helps," said Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
"The wickets here are a bit difficult. As the tournament is progressing, yesterday's wicket did not have much grass. So I think our players are confident," said Pakistan's interim bowling coach Azhar Mahmood.
From 1984 to 2015, a total of 13 Asia Cups have been played. India and Sri Lanka are the two most successful nations of the tournament with five wins each to their names.
Bangladesh beat defending champions Sri Lanka in their last clash
India have already confirmed their post in final.
Since 2010, the Asian Cup is being hosted every two years.
Bangladesh Squad
Mashrafe Mortaza*, Abu Hider, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim†, Nasir Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed
Pakistan Squad
Shahid Afridi*, Anwar Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Nawaz (3), Mohammad Sami, Sarfraz Ahmed†, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz
BDST: 1424 HRS, MAR 02, 2016
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