1st game - Pakistan v Bangladesh, Mirpur It's back to the 50-50 format after the glitz and glamour of the IPL 20-20. Pakistan will take on hosts Bangladesh in the first game of the triangular series also involving a formidable Indian team. Pakistan may have blanked out Bangladesh 5-0 in the series played in April at home but they will have to be very careful of the hosts and in front of home crowd. Pakistan's chances of doing well in the tournament were dealt a severe blow with the detention of premier fast bowler Muhammad Asif in Dubai on possession of a contraband substance. Shoaib Akhtar is already missing from the team due to his ban which depletes the bowling attack. Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir will have to stand up and deliver for the team. However, Pakistan's batting is in safe hands with the likes of Yousuf, Younis, Misbah and Malik in the line up. Yousuf who had short county stint with Lancashire is in top form with a double hundred in his final county game. Bangladesh on the other hand can prove to be a handful at home despite a poor record in the last year or so. They have some capable players who can create problems for the opposition with the likes of Ashraful, Mortaza and Shahriar Nafees. If Bangladesh manages to bat well then they have some chance of posing some sort of threat for the opposition. Average batting has been their bane in recent games something, which coach Jamie Siddons, will like to improve upon. Predictably the conditions will be humid with chances of rain pretty high at this point in time. This short series will give a good opportunity to all the teams involved to prepare themselves for the upcoming Asia Cup in Pakistan and then the Champions Trophy in September. The series also gives a good chance to the new faces in the Pakistan side like Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz to showcase their talent and make a name for them. For Pakistan team as a whole they will have to apply themselves well. The batsmen will have to utilise the starts they get and post a big score while the bowlers will have to bowl in the right areas given the unfriendly bowling conditions. Overall one can predict a high scoring game but Pakistan will have to guard against complacency and get off to a good start before the important game against India on Tuesday.