After enjoying a successful Zimbabwe tour, Bangladesh is in for a tougher challenge as they host Australia in an important five-match T20I series, starting Tuesday. The Asian rivals will take on the team from Down Under with an eye towards this year’s T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman.
The series will be the first time in cricket history that Bangladesh will play Australia in bilateral T20Is. The two countries have previously only met in the T20 World Cups. Those matches – spanning 2007, 2010, 2014 and 2016 editions of the marquee ICC event – have all gone Australia’s way. Bangladesh have a 0-4 record against the Aussies in the shortest form of the game and will be hoping to improve that.
The five matches to be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on August 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9, will help the two teams to fine-tune their games by plugging whatever holes they may be carrying ahead of the T20 World Cup 2021 to be played in October-November.
The series is especially pertinent to the Aussies, for whom these are their last round of scheduled bilateral T20Is before the trip to the Middle East. Bangladesh, are due to host New Zealand and England as they go deeper into the home season.
Key Players
Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh’s MVP in all forms of the game. The premier all-rounder is hailed widely as his country’s greatest ever cricketer to have played at the highest level. Shakib has made 1,604 runs at a strike-rate of 124.43 and has an economy rate of just 6.82 with 95 wickets from his 79 T20Is for Bangladesh. The 34-year-old did not have the best of times with the bat in Zimbabwe but once again played a pivotal role with the ball in visitors’ success. Shakib picked up three wickets from three outings while going for only 7.00 runs per over in Bangladesh’s 2-1 series victory.
Soumya Sarkar is heading into the Australia series with strong form under his belt. Sarkar, an undoubtedly talented left-hand batsman and handy seam bowler, made an all-round contribution to his team’s success in Harare. The 28-year-old made 126 runs at an average of 42.00 and strike-rate of 124.75 and also took three wickets while going for a respectable 7.57 runs per over in the Zimbabwe T20Is. Sarkar’s best came in the decider, where he struck a crucial 68 off 49 balls and also delivered a spell of 2/19 off his three overs in a high-scoring game.
Mitchell Marsh, the Australia seam bowling all-rounder, was the biggest positive to have come out of his team’s previous T20I series in the Caribbean. Even though the tourists lost 4-1, Marsh was the top-scorer from either side with 219 runs at a strike-rate of 152.08 and also the second-highest wicket-taker with 8 scalps at an economy rate of 6.76. The 29-year-old seems to be coming into his own at just the right time for Australia and will be hoping to continue his great form against Bangladesh.
Mitchell Starc had an up and down tour of the West Indies, where he struggled in the T20Is but bounced back very strongly in the ODIs that followed. Having ended the trip on a good note, the left-arm quick will be looking to maintain his form and rhythm. Starc can be lethal against Bangladesh if he can find his mojo from the start. The 31-year-old has taken 48 wickets from his 39 previous T20Is for the Aussies with an economy rate of 7.15. Starc’s ability to generate movement in the air and off the deck at express pace makes him a dangerous prospect for Bangladeshi batsmen.
Josh Hazlewood, the other of Australia’s new-ball veterans, could be just as much a threat as Starc for the hosts. Hazlewood bowled well on the recent tour of West Indies, where his T20I series tally included four wickets from four outings at an economy rate of 7.73. He hasn’t always been available to play the shortest form of the game for Australia, who have tended to prioritise the Tests and the ODIs with their premier right-arm seamer. It has had some negative influence on the 30-year-old’s T20I record – 13 matches, 13 wickets with 8.76 runs per over – but with more regular game time in the coming week, Australia can expect to get the best out of Hazlewood.
Prediction
Despite their horrible loss in the West Indies, visitors Australia will start off the T20I series against Bangladesh as favourites. The Aussies have their obvious flaws but are still better placed than their Asian rivals as a T20I side.
Since the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2016, Australia have a win-loss ratio of 1.21 (28 wins and 23 losses from 53 games), better than Bangladesh’s 0.53 (14 wins and 26 losses from 40 games). Expect the Australians to make a winning start in Dhaka.
