International cricket returns to the subcontinent, and fans can watch live online as Pakistan opens its tour of Bangladesh on April 17 with the first of three One Day International matches, in streaming video from Shere Bangla National Stadium in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka.
Information on how to watch Pakistan vs. Bangladesh, 1st ODI, live online can be found below.
First ball of the 50-overs-per-side match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Bangladesh Standard Time on Friday — so cricket fans in the United States will need to set their alarms because that means the game starts at 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time, 1:30 a.m. Pacific.
Viewers in the United Kingdom have it a little easier, with a local start time of 9:30 a.m., British Summer Time.
Bangladesh comes into the match filled with confidence after last month’s ICC Cricket World Cup, which saw them advance to the quarterfinals of that competition for the first time — qualifying with a stunning group stage upset of England — a victory was so inspirational back home that the warring Bangladesh political parties waging a violent struggle for control of the country called a truce to honor the national cricket team.
The Bangladesh side will be led by the 28-year-old all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, whom the respected ESPN CricInfo site calls “unarguably the best cricketer that Bangladesh have ever had.”
Shakib should be sharp, coming off the first two matches of the Indian Premier League season , in which he plays for the defending champion Kolkata Knight Riders.
But Shakib has now left the IPL behind to rejoin his national team, and believes that Bangladesh — who have beaten Pakistan only once in 47 previous meetings in all formats of cricket — are actually the favorites to knock off their visiting subcontinental neighbors in the ODI series.
“I think this is our best chance to win against Pakistan. Everyone in the team believes so, too. We have proved that we can beat any team at home. If we play our best cricket, we can do well against any side,” Shakib said earlier this month. “We beat New Zealand seven times, and they are the World Cup runners-up.”
He may be right, as Pakistan arrives in Bangaldesh with an injury-depleted side that will be playing its first ODI match without its revered captain Misbah-al-Huq, who retired after the World Cup in March.
India-based website CricHD will stream the ODI match , but viewers will have to put up with numerous advertisements that could cause problems with online viewing. The best way to watch the Pakistan vs. Bangladesh 1st ODI live online in the United States is through Willow TV , which is available via this YouTube link with a monthly subscription fee, as well as on Willow TV ‘s own site, accessible by clicking here.
Some promotional offers allow legal, free viewing of Willow TV for a limited period of time, such as the offer at this link — or as part of the one month free trial of Sling TV ‘s International Sports Package. Information on that deal can be found at this link.
For viewers who are not early risers, Willow TV will replay the live online stream of the Pakistan vs. Bangladesh 1st ODI at 10 p.m. Eastern Time Friday.
[Image: Scott Barbour/Getty Images]