T20 World Cup | With their backs to the wall, Australia face Bangladesh to keep semi-final hopes alive

Two wins in the first two games and an absolute pummeling against England has ensured that Australia are in a pickle going into their fourth group match against Bangladesh. The pickle, better known as the Net Run Rate has put Australia’s place in the semi final in jeopardy, with the Aaron Finch-led outfit currently tottering at -0.627. 

If somehow, they manage to lose one of their next two games, they might end up with the same number of points as their closest rivals South Africa who at the moment have six points from four games with a NRR of +0.742.

The biggest advantage that Australia probably have going into this game is that South Africa play their final game against England, and as everyone will attest - England without a shadow of a doubt have been the best team in the tournament.

However, a man must make his own luck and Australia have to make sure that they win their next two remaining games to nullify the argument of NRR whatsoever.

They will be up against a Bangladesh side, who came into the tournament in high spirits after dubbing Australia and New Zealand in the agricultural tracks of Dhaka. The series wasn’t a pleasant one for Australia who were defeated by a margin of 1-4, and those memories will be fresh in the minds of Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade, who were key men for Australia in that series.

However, this match is not being played in Bangladesh and the tracks do not resemble Dhaka in any manner at all. 

And who knows it better than the Bangladeshi squad themselves?

Things have gotten horribly wrong for them in the Super 12 stage and they have lost four out of their first four games, making the first exit of the World Cup.

This would be their last game of the tournament, and playing without any baggage makes them that more dangerous.

Key pointers of the game

Where does the Australian batting line-up stand in terms of form? 

This would be Australia’s fourth game of the tournament, and they have blown hot and cold in their time here.

Against Sri Lanka on October 28, it looked like David Warner had batted himself into form, but right in the next game he faltered. Against the quality of Chris Woakes, Warner once again edged the ball to the keeper, a mode of dismissal that has been bothering him for over a year now.

Barring captain Finch, none of the Australian top six batters reached even 20 runs and as a result, the team folded for just 125 runs.

Bangladesh’s all round problems

Bangladesh are one of the worst teams in the tournament in terms of power hitting capabilities. They are also one of the worst teams in the tournament in terms of outfield catching. They have dropped 10 catches till now and it is very possible that they will drop a few more against Australia in Dubai.

With Shakib Al Hasan out, the Bangla Tigers will once again go into a match with a tremendous hole of quality - one that is very difficult to manage with the side that they have.

Match Details

Bangladesh vs Australia

Match 34, Group 1, Super 12

Date & Time - 4 November, 3:30 PM IST (2 PM Local)

Venue - Dubai International Stadium, Dubai

Broadcast - Star Sports Network & Hotstar

Team News

Bangladesh

Bangladesh would want to end their campaign on a winning note and that means they should be playing with their best players. We could see the return of Mustafizur Rahman in place of Nasum Ahmed.

Probable XI

David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Australia

This is a day game against a depleted bowling line-up of Bangladesh that will probably be down by two spinners (Nasum and Shakib). If that is the case, it only makes sense to strengthen the batting order, which would mean the return of Mitchell Marsh and the axing of Ashton Agar.

Probable XI

Naim Sheikh, Liton Das (wk), Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad (c), Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam

CE Fantasy XI

Matthew Wade, David Warner, Aaron Finch, Naim Sheikh, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell (c), Mahedi Hasan, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa (vc), Mustafizur Rahman