Pakistan and Bangladesh will face off in their final Group A match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday, February 27 at 2:00 PM local time. With both teams already eliminated from the tournament after losses to India and New Zealand, the match is purely for pride.
Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have struggled with the bat, failing to post competitive totals. Bangladesh managed 228 and 240 while batting first, while Pakistan fell short in a chase of 321, scoring 260, and could only post 241 when setting a target. These underwhelming totals exposed their batting frailties, making it difficult to compete in a tournament where 350+ totals have become the norm.
Pakistan
With nothing on the line, Pakistan might rotate their squad, giving opportunities to Kamran Ghulam, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Hasnain, and Usman Khan, all of whom are yet to feature in the tournament.
Probable XI: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Salman Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Bangladesh
This match could be the final ICC ODI event for Bangladesh legends Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, as the team transitions towards younger players. However, they are expected to stick with the same lineup that played against New Zealand.
Probable XI: Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Mustafizur Rahman
Match Conditions & Weather
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium saw the Australia vs South Africa match abandoned without a toss due to persistent rain. A similar forecast for Thursday raises the possibility of Pakistan and Bangladesh ending their campaigns in a washout.
Stats & Facts
- Pakistan and Bangladesh will face each other for the first time in a Champions Trophy match.
- Bangladesh (181) and Pakistan (162) have bowled the most dot balls in a match in this tournament.
- Since January 2013, Pakistan’s powerplay scoring rate of 4.84 is the second lowest among all Champions Trophy teams, ahead of only Afghanistan (4.5).
While the match holds no stakes, both teams will look to salvage some pride and give their fans something to cheer for in their final outing of the tournament.