T20 World Cup 2021 - Bangladesh win the toss, opt to bowl against Scotland
T20 World Cup 2021: Scotland won their two warm-up matches while Bangladesh lost both of their warm-ups
Bangladesh have won the toss and elected to bowl first in the second match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021.
Bangladesh and Scotland have played just few matches against each other but the fixture of the T20 World Cup has a lot to offer. Scotland are going to lock horns with Bangladesh in the second match of the T20 World Cup at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman today.
The in-form Scotland won their two warm-up matches against Namibia and the Netherlands while Bangladesh lost both of their warm-ups against Sri Lanka and Ireland.
Bangladesh have a lot to draw confidence from. They have wins over Australia and New Zealand during the last three months during which they performed outrageously against the big boys. They are going through their best period in the T20 format of the game and they will be willing to deliver on the big stage of the T20 World Cup.
Bangladesh team have a well-balanced team that can produce quality cricket. Their star players, captain Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan are expected to deliver for their country in the T20 World Cup. But Soumya Sarkar, Mustafizur Rahim and Liton Das have also been in the international stage for a long period and should perform well in the T20 World Cup.
Their skipper, Mahmadullah believes failure in the warm-up matches won’t affect their performance against Scotland, "I don't think the losses in the practice matches will have an effect on us. We are only focused on tomorrow's match against Scotland. I think the confidence is intact. We will play our best cricket."
Bangladesh have been missing hard-hitters, who could finish the game but now they have the likes of Nurul Hassan and Afif Hossain who could finish the game with their big-hitting ability.
On the other hand, Scotland have recently seen both ups and downs in the T20Is, which includes three defeats in a five match home series against Zimbabwe. However, considering their performance in the warm-up matches in the T20 World Cup, their head coach thinks his team is performing well at the right time.
Scotland have experienced batsmen including Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, George Munsey and Calum MacLeod, and they are expected to play significant roles in the T20 World Cup. While Alasdair Evans and Safyaan Sharif are going to take care of the fast bowling attack. They also have a gem in form of a leg spinner, Chris Greaves who took four wickets against the Netherlands. He could upset Bangladesh with his ability to spin the ball both ways.
The Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer believes that their squad is powerful and competent. "I genuinely believe that this is as strong and as powerful a squad as we could have selected. We feel confident with the team we have here and believe we're capable of putting in some strong performances," he said.
Scotland have won the only T20I between them but Bangladesh have won all of the four ODIs between them. But Bangladesh’s performance at the T20 World Cup is not quite satisfactory, as they have lost 21 matches out of 25 matches at the T20 World Cup.
The match is going to be a thrilling encounter between the two nations who have a lot to prove in the T20 World Cup. Scotland’s recent performance in the warm-up matches is going to help them be confident but Bangladesh have also beaten the might Australia and New Zealand.
Playing XI [Probable]
Bangladesh: 1 Soumya Sarkar, 2 Liton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Scotland: 1 George Munsey, 2 Kyle Coetzer (capt), 3 Matthew Cross (wk), 4 Richie Berrington, 5 Calum MacLeod, 6 Dylan Budge, 7 Michael Leask, 8 Mark Watt, 9 Safyaan Sharif, 10 Josh Davey, 11 Alasdair Evans
The match will start at 7:00pm [Pakistan Standard Time], today.
Comments