||Desk Report||

Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes has labeled Pakistan as favorites in their next match against the Tigers. He feels that Bangladesh are also in a good position and going into the match as underdogs might actually be helpful for them.

“Pakistan are the favorites in this match,” he said. “They are a very dangerous team. On their day, they can really pull things together.”

Bangladesh came out victorious when these two teams faced off in the Asia Cup last time in 2016. However, the format is different this time and despite performing relatively better in ODIs, the Mashrafe-led men might not have an upper hand in the next clash as they are going through a tough time with the key batsman Tamim Iqbal out due to injury.

A win against Afghanistan in the last match has however boosted Bangladesh’s confidence. Their next goal is to win the virtual semi-final against Pakistan who will be desperate to come back after falling to their second defeat against India in this tournament.

“Pakistan are a tough cricketing country and want to put things right. I did read some comments from Mickey Arthur about some of their tactics and that's the very reason I am trying to not give our tactics away. But I know what he wanted his bowlers and batsmen to do and they did not do it in those games. They are a good team and they can very much bounce back,” said Rhodes.