ABOUT THE MATCH
We are almost midway in the ongoing Cricket World Cup, and things are just about beginning to take shape beautifully. Although the scheduling of tournament has attracted plenty of flak over the past week with most of the matches being washed out, things are bound to get interesting going forward.
A win for South Africa over Afghanistan has not only pushed the latter to the brink of elimination but has also still kept the Proteas in the hunt for a playoff spot. In an earlier game, England thrashed West Indies to strengthen their position in the top-four whereas Bangladesh had to stay content in splitting points with Sri Lanka.
Lying in the bottom half of the table, the Caribbean team and the Asian Tigers will have an opportunity to get back into the race for the playoffs. While the winner would possibly move into the top-half, things will get rather tricky for the one ending up on the wrong side of the result.
The match between the two sides will be played on 17th June at The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. Each game is of vital importance in this tournament, and with both teams struggling to get points under their belt, it's going to be an exciting contest.
MATCH PREVIEW
WEST INDIES
West Indies are currently placed at the sixth spot in the points table with one win, and two losses in the four games played so far. They still have six games to go and would ideally need to win at least four of those to have a reasonable probability of progressing to the next round.
While most of their challenging games are already over, winning four out of six games is never an easy prospect, especially when one of those games is against India.
Considering that, the importance of their upcoming match cannot be understated. Even though the results haven't favored them, Windies wouldn't be too discontent with the position they're in.
They did well against Australia before losing out in the final few overs and were brilliant against Pakistan in the opening fixture. Also, they were in an excellent position before rain washed out their match against the Proteas.
Up until now in the tournament, it's their bowling which has been responsible for their decent show so far. Barring a superb performance in the warm-up fixture, against the Kiwis, their batting has underperformed on the whole with batsmen perishing in the quest of getting too many runs too quickly.
Arguably their most reliable batsmen, Shai Hope, has either been too slow to get going or has returned to the pavilion prematurely which has also reflected in the scorecards they've posted. More often than not, they've struggled to last for the full quota of fifty overs which has hurt them badly.
Also, the selection of Carlos Brathwaite over Kemar Roach has attracted a lot of criticism for their skipper Jason Holder. Keeping Brathwaite has arguably rendered their side a little weak on bowling which was also apparent in their match against the Aussies where they reduced them to 79 for five only to chase a tall total later.
All in all, West Indies have raised the expectations from them in this Cricket World Cup with the kind of performances they've posted. They've been excellent at times, but the failure to last throughout hundred overs has hurt them. If they can keep their focus alive and be consistent with their approach, they will be a force to deal with in the upcoming fixture.
West Indies squad
Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope(w), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder(c), Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Shannon Gabriel, Ashley Nurse, Darren Bravo, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach
playing 11
Chris Gayle, Shai Hope (wk), Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Jason Holder (c), Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas
BANGLADESH
Bangladesh had a remarkable start to their campaign in this tournament, beating South Africa quite comfortably, but haven't been able to produce similar kind of performance ever since. They are currently placed at the seventh place in the points table with just one win in four matches and are desperate for another win to keep their run on the track.
Coming into the tournament, they made a few critical changes to their lineup with Shakib Al Hasan coming in at number three is the most prominent one. The decision to promote him has also been the one which has reaped the most benefit for the side. In the three matches he has played, he has scored 260 runs at an average of over 86 and a noteworthy strike-rate.
Apart from Shakib Al Hasan, however, we haven't seen anyone from Bangladesh go on and play big innings. There have been instances of individual brilliance from Mahumudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Soumya Sarkar, but the over-reliance on Shakib Al Hasan has well and truly been apparent.
Their spinners played a key role in their only win over in the tournament so far, but it would be interesting to see how they fare against the power-packed Windies batting lineup consisting of Chris Gayle and Andre Russell who are known to handle spin well. Also, barring Mustafizur Rahman, they have a quick-bowling unit which looks rather unidimensional.
Bangladesh defeated West Indies in the final of tri-series which happened right before this ICC event started which should be a big confidence booster for them. Having said that, that West Indies unit was a second string side that did not feature the likes of Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, and Evin Lewis.
Just a day ago, Mushfiqur Rahim suffered an injury during practice and was rushed off the field. His participation in the next fixture is still under the clouds, and his absence could well be a decisive factor. All in all, Bangladesh have an excellent unit which has surely punched above its weight under the leadership of Mashrafe Mortaza.
Mortaza, however, has himself been out of form and would need a colossal effort from his side going forward in the tournament, especially if Mushfiqur Rahim is ruled out of next as well as the other upcoming fixtures.
Bangladesh Squad
Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Liton Das, Sabbir Rahman, Abu Jayed
Playing 11
Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mossadek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Mustafizur Rahman
DREAM11 PREDICTION
Check out the Dream11 Fantasy Lineup of the 23rd World Cup match, between West Indies and Bangladesh below:
WI VS BAN DREAM11 LINEUP
WICKET-KEEPER:
Shai Hope Nicholas Pooran
BATSMEN:
Chris Gayle (VC) Mahmudullah Tamim Iqbal Soumya Sarkar
ALL-ROUNDERS:
Shakib Al Hasan (C) Andre Russell
BOWLERS:
Shannon Gabriel Mehidy Hasan Miraz Mohammad Saifuddin
MATCH PREDICTION
While both the sides have shown glimpses of individual brilliance in the tournament thus far, they both are dealing with their own set of problems.
Batting out fifty overs has been a significant problem for the Windies while Bangladesh appears to be a little too over-reliant on Shakib Al Hasan.
Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza have mainly looked out of color, and the injury to Mushfiqur Rahim has only added to their concerns.
We might see West Indies bringing in Kemar Roach in place of Carlos Brathwaite, and while that would certainly bolster their bowling attack, that would also make their batting look a little more fragile.
Comparing the two teams on paper, there's hardly anything to separate the two sides. Considering the batting friendly surfaces, short boundaries, and a balanced bowling attack, the Caribbean side appear to be better placed to emerge on top in the upcoming encounter.
