On Tuesday (Oct 31), Pakistan will face Bangladesh in match 31 of the ODI World Cup 2023 edition. The match will be held at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata and both sides will be desperate to get back to winning ways. While Pakistan occupy the seventh spot in the points table, with two wins from six games, Bangladesh are languishing at the ninth spot with a solitary victory from six outings.

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While both teams are running against time to stage a comeback, there are several outside issues which have dented their run. For Pakistan, a lot of questions have been raised on captain Babar Azam, for his strike rate and tactical calls, fitness of players whereas the form of Shadab Khan, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, etc. have simply not been as expected.

Amid all this, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf reacted to alleged rumours of Babar contacting him in the middle of the team’s campaign whereas Inzamam-ul-Haq resigned as the PCB chief selector for conflict of interest claims. Thus, a lot is happening in Pakistan cricket amid the World Cup campaign.

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For Bangladesh, their campaign started with headlines on former captain Tamim Iqbal and current skipper Shakib Al Hasan being at loggerheads. They started off with a win over the Afghans but have fell flat since then. With five back-to-back defeats, their back is against the wall. Will they beat the out-of-form Pakistan?

Pitch conditions and result prediction: A sultry afternoon with high humidity is expected in Kolkata. As seven of the last eight ODIs at the venue have been won by teams batting first — including Netherlands’ successful defence of 229 versus the Bangla Tigers a few days back — it will be the preferred option once again. The pitch is likely to be two-paced and will get tricky for batting later. Change of pace, short balls, etc. will come into play. 

While it is tough to predict the winner, given the form of both sides, expect Pakistan to beat the Bangla Tigers on Tuesday evening.

Probable XIs:

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq/Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan/Usama Mir , Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf

Bangladesh: Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mahedi Hasan/Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam

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