CT 2017, Match 5, AUS vs BAN – Bangladesh Predicted XI

Bangladesh entered the ICC Champions Trophy without the tag of being the minnows for perhaps the first time ever. They did well enough to find a place amongst the top 8 ODI sides in the world and managed to knock the T20 World Champions West Indies out of the competition. Currently, they are ranked 7 in the rankings and stand 4 points clear of Pakistan and on par with Sri Lanka. It can be said safely that they have earned the right to be a part of the prestigious tournament.

In their first match against England, they made a good start by amassing 305 runs while batting first. Tamim Iqbal scored an excellent century and Mushfiqur Rahim played a decent knock of 79. At the halfway stage, they must have thought of upsetting the hosts with the runs on the board. But it turned out to be the same old story for them. The batting clicked but the bowlers failed to deliver as England chased down the total with ease.

The Champions Trophy is a pretty short tournament and one loss could potentially close your doors for the semi-finals. Now, Bangladesh face a stern challenge against the World Champions Australia in the 5th match of the tournament at the Kennington Oval in London. The Aussies must be hurting after their dismal show against New Zealand and will come hard at Bangladesh. Whether Bangladesh would be able to stand up against the mighty Australians or not, remains to be seen.

Here’s a look at the predicted XI of Bangladesh as they take on Australia:

Openers (Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar)

Tamim Iqbal played a terrific hand against the hosts in the opening encounter as he made 128 runs off 142 balls that included 12 fours and 3 sixes. He was instrumental in taking his side past the score of 300. The only criticism of his knock was the pace at which he batted. Once more, the side would be heavily dependent on him.

The other opener Soumya Sarkar is a very highly talked about batsman in the country. Many regard him as the future of Bangladesh in all the three formats. So far, he hasn’t been able to live up to the expectations in the tournament as he has scores of 19, 2 and 28 in the 3 innings in the country.

Middle Order (Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman and Mahmudullah)

Imrul Kayes has been asked to bat at number 3 as they have to accommodate Sarkar in the line-up. He did open in one of the warm-up matches but was pushed down to number 3 against England once more. He scored 19 in the last match and needs to do plenty more against the mighty Australians.

Mishfiqur Rahim had a good time against England as he made 79 off just 72 balls with 8 boundaries. But it was his departure in the 45th over that triggered a collapse in the lower middle-order. The former skipper would love to finish the innings rather than leaving the center at the wrong time.

Sabbir Rahman played a quickfire cameo of 24 off 15 balls against England that took them past the score of 300. He has done the job of finishing the innings on a high quite a few times in the past. Mahmudullah didn’t have much to do in the last game but needs to be on his toes for the next one.

All-rounder (Shakib Al Hasan)

The all-rounder and the best player from Bangladesh – Shakib, needs to raise his game a few notches if his team has to stand any chance of moving to the next round of the tournament. He could score just 10 runs in the last game while batting and gave away 62 runs in 8 overs without picking up any wickets. He has to take more responsibility with the bat as he holds the key like he has been doing for a number of years.

Bowlers (Mehedi Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain)

In the last game, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat was picked in the XI ahead of Mehedi Hasan. The move to keep Mosaddek didn’t pay dividends as he conceded 47 runs in 7.2 overs and remained wicketless. This time around, they need to look at the talented off-spinner Mehedi Hasan who has impressed one and all in a short span of time.

The skipper Mashrafe Mortaza isn’t the same bowler he once used to be. He used to touch 140 clicks consistently which is not the case now. These days, he bowls gentle medium pace but his cutters are still effective. Against England, he provided the initial breakthrough by sending Jason Roy back. A lot will depend once more on the experienced campaigner.

Mustafizur Rahman had made a grand entry into the international arena but has been off the radar a bit in the recent past. He went for 51 runs in 9 overs against England and couldn’t register in the wickets column. In the helpful conditions of England, he needs to bring the A game forward.

Rubel Hossain, perhaps the fastest Bangladeshi pacer, did well in the warm-up matches but had a terrible outing in the game against England. He was taken for 64 runs in 10 overs without picking up any wickets. The fast bowler will be tested big time against the explosive batsmen of Australia.