New Delhi: It is going to be the battle of the greens at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, when Pakistan will be taking the field against Bangladesh on Tuesday.
Both the teams at the current stage are on the verge of getting eliminated from the ICC World Cup 2023, even though Pakistan would technically still be in contention despite a loss on Tuesday, but that will be only a time-being scenario.
However, a loss for Bangladesh will result in them becoming the first team to get officially eliminated from the tournament.
Another big rivalry is set to reignite, as #Pakistan take on #Bangladesh!
2 teams in green, gunning to ‘green light’ their faltering campaigns.
Tune-in to #PAKvBAN in the #WorldCupOnStar
Today, 12:30 PM onwards | Star Sports Network#CWC23 #Cricket pic.twitter.com/nWVXiqMZeK— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) October 31, 2023
Journey so far
Both Pakistan and Bangladesh started their journey on a high but fell down hard shortly after that.
Pakistan started their campaign with wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka by 81 runs and 6 wickets, but they are on a four-match losing streak. After that, they lost to India by 7 wickets, Australia by 62 runs, Afghanistan by 8 wickets and South Africa by 1 wicket.
However, all is not lost for the Pakistani team if they can manage to win all their matches from here, they can still make it to the semifinals mathematically.
Will a spicy track in Kolkata help Haris Rauf be in the wickets?
Steve Harmison backs Pakistan to down Bangladesh at Eden Gardens #PAKvBAN #CWC23 #IndusIndBank #CheerForGreatness @MyIndusIndBank pic.twitter.com/KSoUjy9vHR
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 31, 2023
On the other hand, Bangladesh, who started their journey with a 6-wicket win over Afghanistan, lost five matches consecutively after that. They lost to England by 137 runs, New Zealand by 8 wickets, India by 7 wickets, South Africa by 149 runs and Netherlands by 87 runs.
The match on Tuesday, however, is going to be important for the Bangladesh team for one more reason. Maybe it will not end up giving them qualification for the semifinal in the World Cup, but they can still get something out of the match against Pakistan, which is the qualification for the ICC Champions Trophy.
Bangladesh training at Eden Gardens (30-10-23)🏏 🇧🇩
Photo Credit: ICC/Getty#BCB | #Cricket | #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/7kb60hzEoQ— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) October 30, 2023
As per the reports, the top 7 teams in the points table will qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, with the host nation getting a direct qualification.
Head-to-head records
If we talk about the head-to-head records of the two teams, the Pakistani team is way ahead of their Bangladeshi counterpart.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have so far locked horns against each other in 38 One Day Internationals, in which Pakistan has emerged victorious in 33 matches, while the Bangladeshi Tigers have managed to get the win in only 5 matches.
‘Babar’ ‘Babar’ Chants everywhere. Unreal craze of Babar Azam in India. The Main character @babarazam258 👑#BabarAzam𓃵 #PakistanCricket #ZakaAshraf #PAKvBAN #CWC2023 #ShameonZaka #BabarAzamIsMyCaptianpic.twitter.com/hyJlNyF1GK
— Out Of Context Cricket PK (@GemsOfCrickett) October 30, 2023
In the World Cups, both the teams have faced each other twice, and they have a 50-50 record with one win each.
The match on Tuesday is expected to be a close one as both the teams will be giving their all to get the two important points going forward in the tournament.
