FANTASY
Follow UsAustralia suffered a demoralizing defeat (1-4) in the T20I series against West Indies. Now, a stricken Australian side will take on Bangladesh in their backyard. This is the first time Australia are visiting Bangladesh for bilateral T20I series, their last T20I match on Bangladeshi soil came in 2014. On the other hand, Bangladesh will be looking to open their account against Australia in T20Is.
But, Australians' poor record in Bangladesh is an opportunity. Australia have won just one out of the four played in Bangladesh, that only one came against the hosts.
Head to head: Matches – 4 | BAN – 0 wins | AUS – 4 wins
SUGGESTED TEAM
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms, we have come up with one team
GROUND DETAILS
The Shere Bangla Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka will be hosting its 349th T20 game overall, which is the most for a venue in the format. This year alone, the venue has seen 50 matches already. In those 50 matches, batting has been a difficult feat. On an average, 139 runs have been scored and seven wickets has fallen in the first innings. A clear indication of bowlers having a say.
In terms of over bowled and wickets scalped, both pacers and spinners haven’t had huge differences. Pacers have bowled 51 percent of the overs and bagged 56.4 percent of the wickets as compared to 49 percent of overs and 43.6 percent of wickets by spinners. However, the pacers (16.9) have managed to strike earlier than spinners (21.0).
With bowlers having the upper hand, we have gone in with a bowling strengthened team. Four bowlers, three allrounders, four batters including the wicket-keeper should be the ideal combination.
SUGGESTED CAPTAIN
Though Australia had a forgetful T20 series against West Indies, Mitchell Marsh was a silver lining for them. Not only did he score runs, he was amongst the wickets as well. Marsh scored 219 runs at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 152.1 and bagged eight wickets. Any player fetching points with both bat and ball is a must have in the fantasy team and Marsh’s purple patch makes him our choice of captain.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts, Marsh could score 17-25 runs and bag 2-3 wickets in the first T20I
X-FACTOR
Another allrounder who has been the soul of Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan has a decent record against Australia with both bat and ball. In four matches, Shakib has scored 143 runs at an average of 35.8 and bagged five wickets. Shakib’s experience is certainly an X-factor that could help Bangladesh.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts, Shakib could score 14-22 runs and bag 0-1 wicket in the first T20I
Soumya Sarkar was sensational in the Zimbabwe series scoring 124 runs in three matches with two half-centuries at a strike rate of 124.8. Also, Sarkar being amongst the wickets is a good sign for Bangladesh as well as the fantasy team.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts, Sarkar could score 18-28 runs and bag 0-1 wickets in the first T20I
After a successful series against Zimbabwe, Shoriful Islam is one of our players to watch out for. The 20-year-old pacer was the highest wicket taker in that series with six wickets at a strike rate of 11. With form behind his back, Shoriful is an X-factor.
Our Criclytics player projection predicts, Shoriful could bag 1-2 wickets in the first T20I
