World T20 2021: After contrasting starts, Oman need to stick to basics, Bangladesh have questions to answer

Bangladesh wouldn’t have thought that they would begin the World T20 2021 campaign in such a dismal manner. The Asian side suffered a 6-run defeat at the hands of Scotland in the first match. While the Bangladesh bowlers did the hard work in the beginning, Chris Greaves nullified it with some fine piece of batting to help his side put 140/9 in 20 overs on the board after being left tottering at 53/6. 

Greaves didn’t just stop here as he also scalped a couple of wickets during the course for the Scotland team. 

But Bangladesh’s major concern would be their batting as neither they got a decent start to the proceedings nor were they able to capitalise on the partnership between Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim that provided them with some resistance. 

Apart from this, another issue that was also raised by captain Mahmudullah after the game was that the batsmen weren’t able to score runs quickly which eventually created pressure on them. 

"We didn't deliberately bat slowly. We couldn't hit those boundaries. We have to bat better next time,” he said. 

Oman on the other side, would be riding high on confidence after they clinched a 10-wicket win against PNG in the opener in Al Amerat. The hosts began the proceedings with a wicket maiden when Bilal Khan sent Tony Ura packing for a five-ball duck. Later, Kaleemullah who was sharing the ball with Bilal also picked up a wicket in his first over. 

But then the PNG captain Assad Vala and Charles Amini came to the rescue with an 81-run partnership for the third wicket but Amino’s runout broke the shackles and Oman began to pick wickets at regular intervals but it was in the 16th over when Oman skipper Zeeshan Maqsood ripped through PNG’s batting order and scalped three wickets in one over and eventually returned with a four-wicket haul in the innings. 

PNG were restricted to 129/9 in 20 overs and later, Oman openers Jatinder Singh and Aqib Ilyas stamped authority and helped the side clinch a win by 10 wickets in less than 14 overs. 

Bangladesh and Oman will now lock horns with each other in Al Amerat on Tuesday (October 19, 2021). 

Ever increasing concerns for Bangladesh

The Bangladesh team would have had faith in their most experienced batters, Mushfiqur, Shakib and Mahmudullah to help them in time of crisis. But that trust had thoroughly been shaken after none of the batsmen could manage to take the team over the line in the last match against Scotland. 

Another issue that has already been addressed by the captain is that the batsmen failed to fire all the cylinders during the chase and were under pressure at the end. 

The middle-order definitely needs to go all guns blazing if Bangladesh want to make a comeback in the tournament. Third and the final area of concern for the team management is that the bowling unit didn’t capitalise on the kind of start they got against Scotland. They did pick up early wickets but failed to wrap up the innings quickly. 

Confident Oman

Oman certainly are in the best form at the moment. Their bowlers have been picking up wickets while the batters have dominated the opponents thoroughly. The hosts don’t really need to do much and should stick to the basics and can take advantage against Bangladesh who are already being under tremendous pressure. 

Match Details

Oman vs Bangladesh, Match 6, Group B

Venue: AI Amerat Cricket Ground Oman Cricket, (Ministry Turf 1)

Date & Time: 19th October at 7:30 PM IST and 6:00 PM Local Time

Live Streaming: Star Sports Network

Pitch Report

The track might have something on offer for the bowlers, especially spinners in the middle overs. Moreover, it is an evening encounter so dew can play a vital role during the contest. So, if you win the toss, elect to field. 

Probable XI

Bangladesh: Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Musfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah (c), Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed

Oman: Aqib Ilyas, Jatinder Singh, Kashyap Prajapati, Zeeshan Maqsood (c), Mohammad Nadeem, Ayaan Khan, Sandeep Goud, Mohammad Naseem Khushi (wk), Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan, Khawar Ali

CE Fantasy XI

Musfiqur Rahim, Nurul Hasan, Jatinder Singh, Aqib Ilyas, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan (C), Mahmudullah, Zeeshan Maqsood, Mustafizur Rahman (VC), Taskin Ahmed, Bilal Khan