Bangladesh host Australia in the first of a three-match ODI series at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Tuesday, June 9. The Aussies come here on the back of the Indian Premier League, in which many of their players participated. Playing in the IPL must have helped the Australians get acclimatised to the conditions in Bangladesh, where the ball turns and tends to keep low on the odd occasion. Australia do not have a lot of their top players for this tour, which has led to Josh Inglis being named as captain. Bangladesh will look to make use of this inexperience in the Australian ranks.
Bangladesh’s main goal will be to bat well in this match and set a big total or chase one down. If they bat well, they will not be troubled too much by the Australian challenge. The home team know these conditions extremely well, and that will come to their advantage. What’s more, they have a lot of white-ball specialists in their ranks, such as Towhid Hridoy, Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das. Even captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who is their captain, is renowned for his abilities in white-ball cricket. With the ball in hand, spinner Rishad Hossain will have a big job to do.
The leg-break bowler is known to trouble the best batters in the world with his guile and flight in the air. Australia do have the likes of Matt Renshaw and Marnus Labuschagne at the top of the order who can provide them with steady starts. While the weather conditions are expected to be humid, the visitors will have to be prepared for the heat as well. The Kangaroos look most settled in the all-rounders’ department, where they can count upon the services of players such as Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly. Both these players are fresh from the IPL, and hence, have adapted well to the hot and humid conditions of the subcontinent. They can help Australia a lot.
Predicted Teams
BAN: Tanzid Hasan, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (c), Mosaddek Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed.
AUS: Matt Renshaw, Josh Inglis (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Matthew Short, Alex Carey (wk), Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, Matthew Kuhnemann.
Key Players
Najmul Hossain Shanto (BAN): Interestingly, Bangladesh’s Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is not their leader in ODIs. Instead, he will be in the side only as a player. As a batter, there are very few who can match the skill and ability that Shanto has. The southpaw is renowned for sweeping the ball well, which comes naturally to him. He is an excellent player of spin, and walking out to bat at number three, he will torment the Aussies with his constant rotation of strike.
Adam Zampa (AUS): Adam Zampa will turn out to be Australia’s trump card in these conditions. The leg-spinner has always been touted to be one of the best in his skills, and now, at the age of 34, it is time for him to show the world his true mettle. Zampa will be the leader of the Australian bowling unit on this tour, and he will aim to dismantle the Bangladesh batting unit with turn and bounce. He is also a good white-ball bowler in the sense that he can hold one end up with his accuracy in the middle overs.
Match Prediction
With the inexperienced squad that Australia have brought on this tour, Bangladesh have an advantage. At any rate, the Bangla Tigers are known to be untouchable in home conditions. We expect Bangladesh to defeat Australia comfortably. They have selected their best possible squad, and with Miraz at the helm, a lot of strategic decisions are bound to go in their favour. Australia are filled with rookies, especially in the bowling department, where leg spinner Adam Zampa is the sole experienced customer.
