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Dhaka: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Saturday warned his teammates about the stiff challenge posed by Bangladesh ahead of their clash in the opening match of the Asia Cup on Sunday.
He said his side would not make the mistake of taking Bangladesh lightly despite Pakistan's nearly perfect record against the hosts. Of the 29 matches between the sides, Pakistan has lost just one, an ODI at the 1999 World Cup.
"We don't want to commit that mistake. Bangladesh is a difficult opposition at home, because they know the condition very well," Misbah said. "On their day they can upset you, so we will not take them lightly. We have to put in our hundred percent, we really have to come out hard to win the game."
He added that new Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore, a former Bangladesh coach, should be able to provide the tourists with details about the opposition and the local conditions.
"He is already contributing, and of course he can give some input about the Bangladeshi players," Misbah said. "But I think we are playing lots of cricket against Bangladesh, we played a series against them here in Dhaka. So we are quite familiar with them.
One of Pakistan's most consistent batsmen in the last year, Mohammad Hafeez, has suddenly slipped. In the ODI series against England, Hafeez managed just 61 from four games. Pakistan will need him to play a steady hand at the top of the order.
Meanwhile, Shakib said dealing with Pakistan's spin attack would be the key challenge for Bangladesh.
"Handling Pakistan's spin attack is vital for us, and moreover their fast bowling unit is also good. I think they have the best bowling unit of all the teams playing this tournament," Shakib said.
Despite Bangladesh's inconsistent performance against top teams, Shakib said the hosts will aim to win every match at the tournament.
Although Bangladesh was whitewashed in its bilateral series against Pakistan earlier this year, Shakib remained confident of his side's chances.
Mashrafe Mortaza has made several comebacks from injury. Tomorrow, he opens yet another chapter. A knee injury sidelined him from the 2011 World Cup.
India have won the Asia Cup five times while Sri Lanka won it four times. Pakistan has won it once.
Teams from
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain & wk), Imrul Kayes, Tamim Iqbal, Nazimuddin, Jahurul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Elias Sunny, Nazmul Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Anamul Haque.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal (wk), Hammad Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shahid Afridi, Azhar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Wahab Riaz
Pitch and conditions
The pitch at the Shere Bangla Stadium has a bit of grass, a deviation from the normally slow surfaces which have prompted captains to bring their spinners on from the second over.
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Sunday March 11, 2012 (day/night)
Start time 1400 local (0800 GMT)
