In match 34 of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Australia will take on Bangladesh, which is most probably a must-win match for them, given the scenario in Group 1. Matches have been low-scoring in this edition, and Australia will need a miracle to improve their net run rate drastically. Australia will hope that England beats South Africa and they manage to win both their games. In this piece, we look at the stats of the previous encounters between Australia and Bangladesh and what can we expect on match day.
Recent Form
Bangladesh have lost all their four group matches and will be playing for pride, and Australia is coming after a crushing defeat against England. Australia also lost the T20I series, 1-4, to Bangladesh earlier this year and that could have a huge impact on how they go about the proceedings.
In nine T2OIs, Australia have defeated Bangladesh five times, and this stat is more in favor of Australia when you look at the T20Is in this tournament’s history. Australia have won all four matches.
Before the tournament began, Bangladesh had won nine out of their 13 games against top sides like New Zealand and Australia but have failed to carry that form in this tournament. Whereas Australia had won only four out of their last 15 games, but now find themselves in a good position. They are a seasoned team and know how to win big matches. The fans will rely on this notion and hope that they end up winning this match and give themselves a good chance to qualify.
Players to watch out
Australia
Adam Zampa has been Australia’s leading wicket-taker this edition and has been economical. The pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood have performed well, which has given Zampa the stage to show his skills. Zampa has eight wickets against Bangladesh in five matches with an economy of 6.15
David Warner is back in form, and his innings against Sri Lanka on the same ground a week ago will give confidence to the team and the fans back home. Warner has good T2OI stats at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. In six innings, he has three 50’s with a strike rate of 143.48.
Bangladesh
Taskin Ahmed got the ball to swing against South Africa, which can come in handy in this match. Though he has picked up only five wickets in five matches, scoring against him has been difficult. The bowler was a regular feature in the side from 2015-2018 and now has made a good come back in 2021 with eight wickets in 10 matches. With Shakib not playing, the team will need some early wickets at the start to build pressure in the middle overs.
The batters from Bangladesh have contributed in some way or the other. The team has not relied on one or two batters throughout the tournament, with five players scoring more than 130 runs. Mahmudullah has the best strike rate and the average among those five players. The player has one single-digit score in this tournament, and Bangladesh will hope that Mahmudullah converts his start into a big score.
What to Expect
In a must-win game, you expect top players to step up, and Australia have many of them who have been doing this on the international circuit for a long time. Australia would want to chase in these conditions given how they performed against England batting first and also looking at Bangladesh’s performance in the last match. A target in mind will help the experienced players of Australia to plan their innings in a better way. Bangladesh will hope to take Australia with them as they exit the tournament after this match. If Australia fails to win the match, it is more than certain that South Africa will be qualifying as the second team from this group.
