2.45 pm CricIQ social is back. Think you know cricket? Take our Twitter quiz and prove it. And if you refresh the scorecard page, you will have a ringside seat to ESPNcricinfo's Match Day, with Ian Chappell on the top right.
Prachi: "Curious to see the 'away kit' of Bangaldesh. Can you share a picture please?" ---- Here you go. Down the ramp comes Tamim Iqbal
Our man Andrew Fernando has pitched his tent at the Eden Gardens and this is what he sees. "Kolkata has turned out a sweltering day for its first match of the tournament. The stands are mostly empty for now, but there is some very vocal Bangladesh support, wearing green and red. The teams are both warming up. Bangladesh's fielding drills look a little more advanced than Pakistan's."
2.30 pm Pakistan have won the toss and will bat "Pitch is looking good, last game we played against sri Lanka, pitch remained the same. Struggling with batting, we are going with six batsmen and two allrounders, players are confident, Hafeez really did well, Shehzad is back," says Shahid Afridi
Pakistan: 1 Shehzad, 2 Sharjeel, 3 Hafeez, 4 Malik, 5 U Akmal, 6 Sarfraz (wk), 7 Afridi, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Wahab, 10 Amir, 11 Irfan
"We would like to bat first as well," says Mashrafe in the away kit where the red dominates with green on the sleeves, "Boys are confident, the ground is open if we win the first game. Arafat Sunny comes in for Abu Hider" --- So no Mustafiz still...
Bangladesh 1 Tamim, 2 Soumya, 3 Sabbir, 4 Shakib, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Mushfiqur (wk), 7 Mithun, 8 Mashrafe (capt), 9 Sunny, 10 Taskin, 11 Al-Amin
Asif: "Excuse me Commentators, can I have Pakistan Squad as following: 1. David Warner 2. Kane Williamson 3. Virat Kohli 4. A B D Villiers 5. Sarfraz Ahmed 6. Suresh Raina 7. Maxwell 8. Afridi 9. Amir 10. Wahab 11. Irfan Make it quick plz" ----- I'm appalled that you didn't go for King Viv, Whispering Death and the White Lightning and the other big boys, considering your tenuous relationship with the limits of reality.
"Bangladesh is beginning to emerge into a great team !! The fear and the pressure seems to have disappeared," marvels Imran Golam. "The whole team is packed with energy and self believe and great players !!!" ---- They've always played taking a lot of liberties, but this outfit is doing so cleverly. Take Tamim Iqbal, for example, he has scores of 83 and 103 coming into this game by giving the bowler his bit at the start and then cashing in later because he knew he could.
2.15 pm Time keeps ticking along, the excitement keeps building. We'll have the toss with you in 15 minutes' time. Perhaps you can spend it with Mohammad Isam's preview for the game. Also, ESPNcricinfo brings you Match Day, featuring former Australia captain Ian Chappell, at 2.45 pm. Our video show goes live at the top right of the scorecard. Do tune in.
Bangladesh have been playing without their best bowler for a while now. Mustafizur Rahman is still not a certain starter. He will undergo a fitness test prior to the match today at Kolkata, and imagine the impact he could make if the pitch offers even the slightest bit of grip to the ball.
Asim Mubashir points to the other issue for the Bangladesh side: "Are Taskin and Arafat done with their bowling tests" ---- And the answer to that is yes, they popped over to Chennai on March 14 and completed the formalities. Their coach Chandika Hathurusingha was none too pleased about having to go through that hassle though.
"Permission granted from the head, setting up the projector at office." Right on, right on, Shahan
Waleed: "We (Pakistanis) are very relax about the match. Just don't ask why" ---- Perhaps because you've read Waqar Younis' soothing words?
Qasim Alvi: "Waleed is right. We really are relaxed about this game.. but err. don't expect the same vs. you know who, on Saturday." ----- What, all it's going to be is a little neighbourly needling. With a little bit of thisto make sure all of us stay in line.
2.00 pm It's not quite baking yet in Kolkata, a little googling says temperatures should be in the mid-30C and there is about as much chance of rain as me going through this commentary stint without a typo.
Ahsan Butt: "The problem with Pakistan's batting is that they tend to play a lot of dot balls, with no rotation of strike. Just to give an example, Sharjeel played 13 dot balls in his 21-ball innings against SL in warm-up game. They need to learn how to build innings."
"Now or Never, Do or Die situation for Green Shirts," EnamKhan's a bit too in touch with the eerie, but he does wish Pakistan, "Best of Luck." Technically, Pakistan shouldn't be out of the tournament after the events of just one game. Their trouble, it appears, is finding cohesion in the batting side of things. Well, some might say they have found it but are collectively going in the wrong direction.
"I am counting every hour from today morning..." Not long now, Muhammad Farruk. Your patience will be rewarded soon. "waiting to see how my most unreliable but strongest captain perform......" That said, maybe, Afridi could afford to be a bit patient himself. Got a first-ball duck in the warm-ups.
Muhammad Tahir: "Why are people so concerned about Afridi's first-ball-duck in the warm-up match? He came to bat when a few odd balls were left. He has to hit the ball from the word go and there were two possibilities, a boundary or a wicket. So, chill guys, I hope he bats up the order today."
1.40 pm A team on the up against a team unsure of themselves. But the passion from either side rarely dims. In fact, at their Asia Cup clash, the atmosphere was ethereal and Bangladesh's performance was on similar lines. Recent results indicate they might have the wood over Pakistan, but can you really count out people like Shahid Afridi? Can you question the quality in Pakistan's left-arm arsenal? (Even if sometimestheir selections raise a few eyebrows) Mashrafe Mortaza has reinvented his side, he's found fast bowlers and he's backed them to the hilt and here in Kolkata he expects a lot of support from his fellow Bengalis. All in all, this is a game that should take forth the spectacle.
And its spoiling a few people's daily lives. "It is hard to sleep here in Kentucky, USA 13500 km away from Bangladesh with tension about the match," Muhammad Sohel fidgets.
