Bangladesh are going to be a formidable opponent for Scotland in their first T20 World Cup encounter. However, Scotland won both of its scheduled practice matches and are well prepared to face Bangladesh. The match will start at 8 p.m. (Bangladesh Standard Time) on October 17 (Sunday). The winner of this match will likely finish top in their group; therefore, this is an important fixture for both sides. The match preview of Bangladesh vs. Scotland in the T20 World Cup 2021 is discussed in this article.
Notable T20I Record between Bangladesh and Scotland
So far, Bangladesh have only played one T20 match against Scotland. The Scottish national team won the lone match by 34 runs back in 2012. Here are some of the highlights of that match.
Batted first, Scotland scored 162 in their allocated 20 overs. Bangladesh were bowled out for 128 runs in response.
Shakib Al Hasan scored the highest 31 runs for Bangladesh. On the other side, Richie Berrington scored a century (100) for Scotland.
Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdur Razzak took two wickets each for Bangladesh. On the other hand, Joshua Davey and Rana Haq bagged three wickets each for Scotland.
Mashrafe Mortaza had the best bowling figures (2/22) for Bangladesh, while Joshua Davey (3/23) had the best bowling figures for Scotland.
Bangladesh Team
Bangladesh openers failed in the warm-up matches, therefore finding the right opening combination is Bangladesh’s most difficult challenge at the present. Reports suggest that the team management is now keen to open the innings with Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar. Depending on the nature of the pitch, Bangladesh may decide to include a couple of spinners in the playing XI.
Three impactful players of Bangladesh
Mahmudullah Riyad: T20I: 102 | Runs: 1,771 | HS: 64* | SR: 118.69 | Wkts: 33 | BBI: 3/18 | SR: 23.90
Shakib Al Hasan: T20I: 88 | Runs: 1,763 | HS: 84 | SR: 121.41 | Wkts: 106 | BBI: 5/20 | SR: 18.40
Mustafizur Rahman: T20I: 52 | Wkts: 76 | BBI: 5/22 | Econ: 7.48 | SR: 14.90
Predicted Playing XI: Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed
Scotland Team
Scotland have some excellent T20 players in its roster and can shock any team in the world on any given day. Scotland are in good form and they may stick with the same lineup against Bangladesh that took part in the last practice match.
Three impactful players of Scotland
Calum MacLeod: T20I: 53 | Runs: 1,114 | HS: 74 | 50s: 7 | SR: 114.02
Richie Berrington: T20I: 66 | Runs: 1,517 | HS: 100 | SR: 128.12 | Wkts: 27 | BBI: 3/17 | SR: 18.50
Joshua Davey: T20I: 23 | Wkts: 25 | BBI: 4/34 | Econ: 8.21 | SR: 19.50
Predicted Playing XI:
George Munsey, Kyle Coetzer (Captain), Ollie Hairs, Richie Berrington, Calum MacLeod ,Cross (Wicket-Keeper), Christopher Greaves, Joshua Davey, Christopher Sole, Alasdair Evans, Hamza Tahir
Verdict
Winning the first match would boost confidence among the players. Therefore, both sides would be ready to give it their best in this encounter. Bangladesh did not do well in the practice matches, but the results exposed the true weaknesses of the squad. Bangladesh team management must come up with a proper plan in the main event of the T20 World Cup 2021. Otherwise, they would not be able to showcase their true potential in the competition. On the other side, Scotland would be looking to maintain their perfect (T20 match) record against Bangladesh.
Source: United News of Bangladesh