ICC World T20 2016: Pakistan vs Bangladesh- Player vs Player stats

Pakistan and Bangladesh clash for the second time in two months when the teams lock horns for a league game of the ICC World T20 2016 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, having previously met in the Asia Cup T20 2016 concluded recently in Bangladesh.

While the overall head-to-head statistics might be in Pakistan’s favour, it is Bangladesh who have the momentum on their side as they had beaten the said opponent in their Asia Cup encounter.

On paper too, Bangladesh look a better side, at least in terms of the team balance, as they have the right mixture of batsmen, in Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman, bowlers, in Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, and genuine all-rounders and finishers, in Shakib-Al-Hasan and Mahmudullah.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have been heavily reliant on their bowlers, and in them, primarily on Mohammad Amir who has been a sensation since his comeback, and especially since the Asia Cup.

The pace battery also contains Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Sami, and the added experience of their captain Shahid Afridi would also be an add-on.

However, it is their batting that has been a cause of concern as they have had problems with their top order, especially their openers, who have failed to provide them with decent starts.

Before the crucial game, let us have a look at the player vs player stats to statistically analyse the line-ups of the two teams and figure out which team has the upper hand going into the game.

Pakistan	Bangladesh	Who’s better?
Ahmed Shahzad Runs – 941, Avg – 24.76, SR – 115.88	Tamim Iqbal Runs – 1092, Avg – 24.81, SR – 115.31	Bangladesh
Sharjeel Khan Runs – 154, Avg – 22.00, SR – 137.50	Soumya Sarkar Runs – 271, Avg – 18.06, SR – 117.82	Bangladesh
Mohammad Hafeez Runs – 1545, Avg – 22.07, SR – 113.93	Sabbir Rahman Runs – 529, Avg – 33.06, SR – 122.17	Sample too small to judge
Umar Akmal Runs – 1611, Avg – 27.30, SR – 122.97	Mahmudullah Runs- 610, Avg- 18.48, SR- 115.31	Pakistan
Shoaib Malik Runs – 1372, Avg – 25.40, SR – 110.73 Wickets – 25, Avg – 20.40, RPO – 6.38	Nasir Hossain Runs – 370, Avg – 18.50, SR –113.49 Wickets - 7, Avg – 37.42, RPO – 8.78	Pakistan
Sarfraz Ahmed Runs – 270, Avg – 30, SR – 120.00	Mushfiqur Rahim Runs – 659, Avg – 17.81, SR – 112.26	Bangladesh
Shahid Afridi Runs – 1315, Avg – 17.77, SR – 148.92 Wickets – 93, Avg – 24.11, RPO – 6.57	Shakib-Al-Hasan Runs – 996, Avg – 23.16, SR – 122.20 Wickets – 61, Avg – 19.67, RPO – 6.67	Pakistan
Imad Wasim Runs – 86, Avg – 21.50, SR - 159.25 Wickets – 7, Avg – 22.85, RPO – 6.15	Arafat Sunny Runs – 34, Avg – 11.33, SR – 113.33 Wickets – 10, Avg – 19.60, RPO – 7.25	Sample too small to judge
Wahab Riaz Wickets – 17, Avg – 26.64, RPO – 8.31	Mashrafe Mortaza Wickets – 37, Avg – 34.32, RPO – 7.91	Bangladesh
Mohammad Amir Wickets – 31, Avg – 20.58, RPO – 6.93	Taskin Ahmed Wickets – 7 Avg – 29.42, RPO –6.05	Pakistan
Mohammad Irfan Wickets –13 Avg – 31, RPO – 6.82	Al-Amin Hossain Wickets – 34, Avg – 13.85, RPO – 7.10	Bangladesh
	Bangladesh 5-4 Pakistan

Mohammad Amir will hold the key for his side in this game as well

NOTE: The lineups mentioned above are predicted teams and might not actually be the XIs that take to the field on Tuesday.

Summary

It looks to be a clear case of the Bangladeshi batsmen against the Pakistani bowlers, much like it was expected in the Asia Cup 2016 encounter between the two sides.

Considering recent form, Bangladesh’s top order clearly has the upper hand over their Pakistani counterparts with Tamim Iqbal-- who has average of 233 in 3 games of the tournament so far-- and Sabbir Rahman holding the edge over Ahmed Shahzad and Mohammad Hafeez, who, despite their experience, haven’t been in good touch of late.

The middle order, that has been Pakistan’s saviour in whatever matches that they have won of late, must do the job again as Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, and Sarfraz Ahmed have all been amongst the runs in the Asia Cup.

It is tough to decide as to who holds the upper hand between Shahid Afridi and Shakib Al Hasan, as both of them have been experienced campaigners for their sides. However, considering the recent form, Shakib outclasses Afridi, who has been pretty inconsistent with the bat.

The bowling department, which is assumed to be Pakistan’s fortress, doesn’t look that impressive on paper, at least, against Bangladesh's trio of Mortaza, Al-Amin Hossain and Taskin Ahmed.

It is expected to be a tight contest, as the previous one between the two sides was, and the side that bats better should hold the advantage over the other.

Quite surprisingly, Bangladesh start out as favourites to win the game, purely based on their recent form, despite the fact that they had to qualify for the main tournament.