They say winning is a nice feeling and that will be precisely what Pakistan will be feeling right now. After ambushing the hosts in the one-off T20, the visitors tore apart the fragile mindest of the Bangladesh batsmen in the 1st ODI. On a pitch that was aiding spin, the Pakistan spin quartet made hay as one batsmen after another struggled to come into grips with the pitch as well as the conditions. Batting was not easy, as the Pakistani batsmen found later on during the match, but the Bangladeshi batsmen were found wanting in technique and temperament. The 2nd ODI offers them one more opportunity to set right a few things. 

Pakistan: The scene for the second ODI remains the same and if the pitch offers the same kind of support as it did during the 1st match, things should be rather too easy for the Pakistan spinners. The statistics tell the story for the spinners. Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammed Hafeez find themselves amongst the top 10 wicket takers for the year. The trio have scalped a humongous 103 wickets between them this year. Add to this, the potency of their opening bowling combination, you have a attack that can bowl out the opposition cheaply. 

 

Unpredictable is the word for the Pakistan batsmen. Chasing a modest 92, they almost contrived to make a hash out of it. They were reduced to 63/5 at one stage and it needed some beefy blows from Afridi to take them home. Misbah-ul-Haq is a cool and composed man at the helm and he would not have liked the way some of the batters perished. If Pakistan are to take on the best in the business, they cannot afford any more sloppiness with the bat. 

 

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur bemoaned the fact that the pitch did not offer them any advantage at Mirpur. But it did not mask the inadequacies of his batsmen against any type of spin. Batsmen after batsmen failed to gauge the conditions and perished trying to be too cute. Bangladesh rely heavily on Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan and the 

 

over dependence on them have added to the pressure. As a captain of a team struggling to find its feet in international cricket, Rahim is entitled to his views but Bangladesh know that time is running out and a hostile home crowd would not appreciate a team falling like a pack of cards in almost each and every match. 

 

The bowlers have been left to do the thankless job of trying to conjure up miracles for the team. To be fair for them, they have been the only shining armor in what has been a pretty miserable time for the team. Rubel Hossain has bowled his heart out while the spinners have always been the go to weapon for the skipper. They have done pretty 

 

well and might have even won the 1st match if they had another 40-50 runs in the bank. 

 

Team news:
Pakistan look a settled unit and may play the same XI that did the job clinically in the first match. 

 

Alok Kapali and Imrul Kayes are the back-up batting options for Bangladesh, but their stats are not that impressive enough to force an entry into the playing XI. 

 

Quotes:
The problem for us is that we need to convert the starts into bigger knocks and we need to finish it - Misbah is not too impressed with the batting effort in the first ODI. 

 

I have not experienced what home advantage is in the last two series, to be honest with you - Mushfiqur laments that the pitches have not been helpful for his team. 

 

Final Word:
Pakistan have had the wood as far as the previous meetings between these two teams go. They have a 26-1 advantage over their rivals and anything different other than another win cannot be imagined.