Litton and Agha brace themselves for steely series as Pakistan and Bangladesh prepare themselves for tough series.
Litton and Agha steel themselves for Dhaka’s surprises.
As the two teams get ready to play each other in a three-match Twenty20 International series, Pakistan skipper Salman Agha has stated that his squad will continue to play with no fear, particularly if the circumstances in Bangladesh work in their advantage.
However, run-scoring situations aren’t always favourable in Dhaka. Over the past ten games, the average first-inning score in night T20Is has been less than 125. These include the 2021 series against Australia and New Zealand, in which the spinners from Bangladesh were assisted by roaring turners. It went exactly as planned, with Bangladesh defeating Australia 4-1 and New Zealand 3-2 in the series. However, the current skipper of Bangladesh’s T20I team would rather move away from these custom surfaces.
“I agree that the (2021 series) had an adverse effect on our batters,” Litton Das said. “Even I could have built up a career as a bowler in those pitches. It was a tough time for the batters although Bangladesh won both series. I don’t think there will be a repeat this time. I saw a good wicket. It will be an even game.”
In May and June, Pakistan defeated Bangladesh 3-0 in a Twenty20 International series. In the third game, Pakistan successfully pursued 197 with over three overs remaining after amassing 200+ totals when batting first in the first two games.
Agha, the captain, and head coach Mike Hesson are attempting to persuade the side to adopt the contemporary strategy of attempting to score as many runs as can in the first six overs.
“We have changed the way we play, and that’s how we want to play,” Agha said. “But assessing the conditions is always going to be key. We will see what the conditions are and how we want to play. If the conditions allow us to play that way, we will play, and if the conditions don’t allow us to play that way, we will try to do what the conditions are allowing us. Our goal is to score above par, like 10-15 runs, and when we are batting above par and then when we are bowling, to make sure we will restrict the teams less than over par.
“T20 is changing every single year, every six months, to be honest. We have the players now who will play the way we want. We want to play aggressive cricket, and with that, anyone can play that kind of cricket and can come into the team. But yeah, the players we have right now, they are very good, and very exciting.”
On the eve of the T20I series opening, Bangladesh hosted an optional training session starting in the late afternoon, but Pakistan did not attend. Litton Das had a lengthy conversation with curator Gamini Silva after closely examining the pitch for Sunday’s first Twenty20 International. Litton stated during his press conference that he anticipated athletic fields.
“Mirpur isn’t always bad for batters,” he said. “It was just troubling for batters in two particular series (against Australia and New Zealand in 2021). The ball spins here, there’s help for pacers. But there’s also runs being scored. I think it’s a sporting wicket.”