Bangladesh v Australia, 2nd Test - Bangladesh Predicted XI

Team Bangladesh scripted history when they beat Australia in the first Test of the ongoing two-match Test series against Australia. They started off well with their veteran stars rising to the occasion as Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal led a firm fightback in the first innings after being 10/3. With the ball, it was Shakib in action yet again as he bagged a five-for.

The star all-rounder was not done yet and he backed it up with another five wicket haul in the second innings. All in all, a thorough all-round performance saw the hosts eke out a narrow 20 run win to enter the record books. Needless to add, they were overjoyed and so were the spectators in the stands. Now, a milestone of much greater magnitude awaits them.

If the hosts manage to beat Australia in the second Test, they will, in essence, be whitewashing one of the strongest forces of world cricket. This can well be seen as a rebirth of team Bangladesh at the highest level of the game. With such high stakes and bragging rights on offer, the hosts would want to leave no stone unturned. They will potentially field their best XI moving in to the Test at Chittagong. Here we take a look at the Bangladesh Predicted XI for the second Test:

Openers (Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar)

Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal was the star of the show for Bangladesh in the batting department. His twin fifties ensured that the team put on a decent total on the board. He played a steady knock of 71 in the first innings and had stitched a handy fourth wicket partnership of 155 runs with Shakib Al Hasan. In the second innings, he backed it up with another gutsy 78 that came off 155 deliveries.

While Tamim had a merry time with the bat, Soumya Sarkar failed to impress in either of the innings. He was dismissed for the scores of 8 and 15 in the two innings. Sarkar would want to make amends and ensure that he stays at the crease for a longer duration in the all important Chittagong Test.

Middle-Order (Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman)

Veteran batsman Imrul Kayes had a terrible time with the bat in the first Test. He was sent packing for a duck in the first innings. He could only score 2 in the second, and thus making a horrid game for himself. The middle-order batsman needs to step up and perform as the Australian side is keen on playing three spinners in the lineup.

The Bangladeshi batting looked a little bleak when they had mini collapses during the course of the game. Hence, to avoid that, they would be tempted to beef their batting lineup with the inclusion of Mominul Haque. Mominul could come at the expense of a fast bowler in the playing eleven. He had impressed the cricket fraternity during the tour of New Zealand earlier this year.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim comes in the middle order too. Rahim has been spectacular with his field placements – which have been very attacking compared to the way he took the defensive approach in the one off Test against India. Rahim failed to scored big in the first Test after having got a decent start o f 41 in the second innings.

Young batting star Sabbir Rahman saw himself being demoted in the batting order. However, that did give him the license to hit big and go all guns blazing. But he failed in his attempt to do so. With scores of a golden duck and a shaky 22, Rahman would want to make things count now.

All-rounder (Shakib Al Hasan)

Veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was the Player of the Match in the first Test. He played well in both the departments of the game and was the prime performer for Bangladesh. Shakib hit a brilliant 84 off 133 balls in the first innings. He then scalped 5/68 in the Australian first innings. A rare failure followed with the bat in the second innings when he could only score 5. But Shakib covered up for it with a match winning 5/85 in the second innings.

Spinners (Nasir Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam)

While Shakib played the role of the leading spinner in the team, the efforts of the other Bangladesh spinners cannot be ignored. They ensured that pressure kept on increasing on the visiting batsmen Mehidy Hasan bagged 3/62 in the first innings and Taijul Islam returned with figures of 1/32 in the 8 overs that he bowled.

In the second innings, Taijul bowled a lot more overs – a total of 19.5 overs. He scalped 3/60 during his spell with the ball. Meanwhile, Mehidy Hasan took 2/80. Nasir Hossain, who has been playing in the capacity of the spinner, did not get too much of bowling in either of the innings.

Pace bowlers (Mustafizur Rahman)

The only department where the Bangladeshi side could be in a confusion is the pace bowling department. They played with two quicks in the first Test – Mustafizur Rahman and Shafiul Islam. Both bowlers had very little to do in the match. Hence, Shafiul is likely to be making way for batsman Mominul Haque. The management might even consider benching Mustafizur and giving Taskin Ahmed a go. But considering the slowness of the track at Chittagong, Fizz serves a better case for himself to be the only pacer in the lineup.