Two Asian superpowers in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will lock horns in the Super 12 round in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. This match will take place on today Sunday ( October 24) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium (4.00PM).
Both the teams have made it to the main round after having been decent in the warm-up clash. Bangladesh lost their first match against Scotland, but they bounced back brilliantly to win their matches against Oman and Papua New Guinea and are now in the main round. They will rely on their bowling attack – on Sharjah, the pitches are expected to be slow and sluggish and this is where the spinners from Bangladesh can step up and make a difference. Shakib has found great form in the last couple of games and as always, he will be pivotal to Bangladesh’s chances in the T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be keen to start their campaign with a win after their unbeaten run in the qualifiers. The side looks in great form as they won all their games in the qualifiers and against Bangladesh, their mettle and depth will be tested.”
Both these sides have the team to take advantage of the conditions on offer and hence, we can expect a closely-fought contest.
Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo sensed a chance to beat Sri Lanka after seeing the slow nature of the wicket of Sharjah Stadium, which he termed as similar to wickets in Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.
“These types of conditions can suit us. Sharjah is similar to the wickets in Dhaka. Hopefully that can assist us in tomorrow’s game,” a delighted Domingo said ahead of the match.
Bangladesh won the last two matches between the two sides in this format-a thing which will bolster their confidence also. However they couldn’t do quite well against the Lankans in the other two formats of the cricket in the recent time.
Nevertheless, Domingo is expecting a victory. His confidence also stemmed from the form of Shakib Al Hasan and the other players who showed great character to bounce back after the shocking defeat against Scotland in the first game.
“I think we have played against Sri Lanka a bit over the last couple of months. We have had some good contests against them in ODIs and Tests. We have a well-balanced side with skillful bowlers and some dangerous batters.
We have a world-class allrounder in Shakib,” Domingo said.
The Tigers were unable to win any game against top opposition or apart from the qualifying round in T20 World Cup since they beat West Indies in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007. But, according to Domingo, time has come to get them out of that disappointment.
He said Bangladeshi spinners would get the advantage since all of their matches in the Super 12 will be held in day time, when the dew won’t affect the game. At the same time, the teams like Australia, South Africa, West
Indies, England who are in Bangladesh’s group, historically couldn’t play spin well.
“We are happy with the 2pm starts. It suits us big time. It takes dew out of the equation. I think our spinners will come very much into the competition. We know a lot of the other teams are focused on the dew,” he
said.
“We know anybody can beat anybody, whether you are in this group or the other one. Both groups are equally hard. There’s no advantage or disadvantage for us.”
In Sharjah, the average score is around 150/160 even though the boundaries are short here. The average score and the short boundary also made Bangladesh hopeful, said Domingo.
“The scores have come down considerably since the new wickets have been laid. Tall bowlers who hit the wicket have always been in the game. I came here with SA with years ago. I remember Morne Morkel was very effective, the sort of hard length that he bowled. The ball skids through,” he said “If you bowl wicket to wicket, spin has opportunity here. Leg-before, bowled out would come into the game. We are not known as a power-hitting side so the (shorter boundary) could favour us.”
BAN vs SL Probable XIs:
Bangladesh: Liton Das, Mohammad Naim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah(c), Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan(wk), Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera (wk), Dinesh Chandimal/Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dusmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Lahiru Kumara”
