Bangladesh have only seven wins from 33 matches in the T20 World Cup. However, it had started promisingly when they beat West Indies in the 2007 edition at Johannesburg.
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Where will the match be decided?
Dutch pacers against Bangladesh batters
Bangladesh’s struggles against pace are evident. A loss in the warm-up fixture against Afghanistan, where they were blown away by pace in the Powerplay, further underlines this fact. The Dutch pace attack, led by Paul van Meekeren, will test the Bangladesh batters. Van Meekeren clocked 145 kmph against Sri Lanka in the qualifiers.
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Liton Das vs Tim Pringle
Apart from captain Shakib al-Hasan, Bangladesh’s key player has to be Liton Das. Since the last T20 World Cup, Das has aggregated 417 runs at an average of 29.78 and a strike rate close to 140. The Netherlands have used left-arm spinner Tim Pringle cleverly in the Powerplay. He hardly gave away anything during the qualifiers. It will be an interesting battle between the duo, considering Liton is very good against spin.
Max O’Dowd vs Taskin Ahmed
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With 129 runs, including a half-century against Sri Lanka, Max O’Dowd is the leading run-getter for the Netherlands in the qualifiers. His battle with Taskin will be key. The pacer was the only bright spot in Bangladesh’s warm-up loss against Afghanistan.
Six-lust
Bangladesh have smoked nine sixes in their last three T20Is, while the Dutch have managed only six in their last three outings.
Form guide
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Bangladesh: Since the last T20 World Cup in the UAE, Bangladesh has played 17 T20Is, winning 5 and losing 12.
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Netherlands: The Dutch last qualified for the main round of the T20 World Cup in 2014. Since the last World Cup, they have played 10 T20Is, winning 7, losing 2 while one match was abandoned.
Venue stats
In the last 21 matches at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena, there have been 15 scores of 160 or more. Six of those matches have been won by the side batting second. Ireland struggled to post 128 against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Bangladesh will do well to note the clever use of the three spinners.
Predicted Xs:
Netherlands: Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards (c & wk), Tim Pringle, Timm van der Gugten, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe
Bangladesh: Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Afif Hossain, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud