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Sports Mole previews the 2024 T20 World Cup match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, scheduled to be played at Grand Prairie Stadium on Saturday.

Match 15 in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup will come from group D, with Sri Lanka taking on Bangladesh at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas on Saturday morning.

The Sri Lankans will enter this match looking to bounce back from an opening-round defeat to South Africa while the visitors are making their first appearance in this year’s tournament.

Match preview

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Since winning the T20 World Cup back in 2014, Sri Lanka have fallen off the radar in recent years and look likely to face a challenging task to emerge from this group, which also features the Netherlands, Nepal and South Africa.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first in their opening match, the Lions were taken apart by the Proteas, as they managed just 77 runs before being bowled out in 19.2 overs, with none of their batsmen posting a score of more than 20 runs.

A major problem that the Sri Lankans have faced in recent years has been their lack of batting depth and that was clearly evident again in their opening match with Wanindu Hasaranga, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka contributing just six runs as a collective in the middle-order.

However, while their struggles with the bat are evident, the Lions would have taken some positives from their bowling performance, which, despite having only 77 runs to defend, managed to take the game to 17th over and knocked over four wickets in the process.

Although they lost their opening match, Sri Lanka will enter this contest with confidence, having won four of their last five matches against this opponent, including a series win in Bangladesh earlier this year.

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Meanwhile, Bangladesh have arguably had the best warm-up campaign of any side at the T20 World Cup this year, having arrived in the US early and played a series against the hosts to better prepare and adapt to the conditions.

Unfortunately, their performances during their prep games have been far from impressive, as they lost the series against the US 2-1, with their sole victory coming in a match that saw the co-hosts of this tournament rest several of their first-team players.

Thereafter, the Tigers were easily outdone by India in their final warm-up match, and now enter the main competition having won only one of their last four T20 games, including a nine-run defeat to Zimbabwe at the start of last month.

While Tanzid Tamim has been a breath of fresh air, scoring three half-centuries in his first seven games, a recurring issue the side has experienced in recent times has been their top-order’s inability to lay a platform for them to build on, with the likes of Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, and Nazmul Hossain Shantoof misfiring miserably this year.

Nonetheless, Bangladesh are never a side to underestimate and have more than enough class and experience in their ranks, such as Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan, who will need to step up and provide Najmul Hossain Shanto some much-needed support as he undertakes his first ICC tournament as the new captain.

Team News

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Kusal Mendis stamped his authority on last year’s 50-over World Cup in India and will be hoping to do the same in the Caribbean. The right-handed batter has scored nearly 1,200 runs in this World Cup cycle, nearly 500 more than the next Sri Lankan.

Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka will bring huge experience as seam-bowling all-rounders, while captain Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage should provide the spin-bowling alternatives.

For Bangladesh, vice-captain Taskin Ahmed has been flagged as an injury doubt in the lead-up to this weekend’s fixture, and his fitness is expected to be assessed prior to the final team announcement.

Right-hander Towhid Hridoy has been tipped to have a good competition, coming off the back of two 400+ run seasons in the typically low-scoring Bangladesh Premier League, where he was striking at over 150 against pace bowling.

Sri Lanka squad: Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka.

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Kumer Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Series so far

Sri Lanka

Match One: Sri lanka lost by 6 wickets
Sri Lanka – 77 (19.1)
South Africa – 80/4 (16.2)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh are playing their first match of the competition.

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We say: Sri Lanka to win

While Sri Lanka’s opening match against the Proteas was well below expectations, the experience would have been invaluable and they will have a much better understanding of how to navigate the pitches and conditions here, which have proven difficult for even the best teams in the competition.

With two well-matched sides going head to head here, it would not surprise us if this match went down to the wire, but we are backing the Lions to come out on top and register their first points of the tournament.

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Sports Mole previews the 2024 T20 World Cup match between New Zealand and Afghanistan, scheduled to be played at Providence Stadium on Saturday.

New Zealand will get their 2024 ICC T20 World Cup campaign underway this weekend when they take on Afghanistan at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Saturday morning.

These two sides faced each other once in the shortest format back in 2021 and the Black Caps won that encounter fairly comfortably by eight wickets and with 11 balls to spare.

Match preview

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Group C is widely considered the toughest in the tournament this year and New Zealand have been handed about the worst fixture list they could have received facing Afghanistan and West Indies in their first two matches.

On top of that, the Black Caps’ preparation for the competition was far from ideal, with rain restricting them to just two full training sessions, which included in-game scenarios in the absence of warm-up matches.

Gary Stead‘s side could have scheduled warm-up matches but chose not to, as their squad only fully assembled on Sunday with the arrival of Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson.

New Zealand’s last competitive T20 match ended in a nine-run defeat to Pakistan back in April, which ended a five-match series level at 2-2 after the opening match was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Still, despite their setbacks, the Black Caps always turn up at these types of tournaments and are no strangers to reaching the latter stages, having made semi-final appearances in the previous edition of this competition and the 50-over format last year.

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Meanwhile, Afghanistan came into the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 as a potential dark horse following an impressive ODI World Cup campaign in India, where they finished ahead of former champions England and Sri Lanka.

Since their debut in 2010, the Blue Tigers have reached the Super Eight stage in each of the last three editions of this tournament, which illustrates the steady improvement they have made over the years following first-round exits in their first three attempts.

With Jonathan Trott in the dugout alongside bowling coach Dwayne Bravo, the Afghans got off to the perfect start in this year’s competition, romping to a 125-run victory against tournament newcomers Uganda on Tuesday.

Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (76) and Ibrahim Zadran (70) forged a remarkable 154-run opening partnership, the second-highest in men’s T20 World Cup history, surpassed only by the 170 by England’s Jos Buttler and Alex Hales in 2022.

However, the standout performer of the match was Fazalhaq Farooqi, who shone with five wickets for a mere nine runs as Uganda collapsed to the fourth-lowest total in T20 World Cup history.

While the Blue Tigers will be brimming with confidence, the one criticism the side have faced is that their recent run of form has come against non-Test-playing nations, and it will be interesting to see how they fare here in their first proper challenge since their 2-1 series loss to Sri Lanka back in February.

Team News

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Finn Allen has been labelled as one to watch in this year’s tournament. The right-hander’s ability in the first half of the innings is remarkable, with his powerplay strike rate of 149 in the current World Cup cycle being the highest of any player in T20 history.

The Black Caps will be led on the field by the experience of skipper Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Trent Boult, while Kyle Jamieson and Adam Milne are sidelined from the lineup due to injuries.

Afghanistan are likely to remain unchanged after their first-match performance and will look to the dynamic duo of Gurbaz and Zadran to lay the foundation at the top of the innings again.

Rashid Khan delivered an excellent 2/12 and Naveen-ul-Haq picked up 2/4 in two overs against Uganda both will need to support the opening pair of Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to keep the Black Caps’ formidable top order at bay.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee

Afghanistan squad: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik

Series so far

New Zealand

New Zealand are playing their first match of the competition.

Afghanistan

Match One: Afghanistan won by 125 runs
Afghanistan – 183/5 (20)
Uganda – 58 (16)

© PA Photos

We say: Afghanistan to win

While New Zealand are the higher-ranked side, their preparation coming into this tournament has been far from ideal, and the pitches in the Caribbean so far have proven to be anything but straightforward.

This match will give us a clearer indication of what to expect from the Black Caps in this competition, but we feel that they may just suffer an against-the-odds defeat in this one.

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Amit Mishra (second right) gestures towards the pavillion after taking five wickets during the fifth ODI against NZ. (AFP Photo)…

Amit Mishra floored New Zealand with his second five-wicket-haul in ODIs. (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: India needed to defend 270 runs in order to win their first major bilateral ODI series in two years. And as it turned out, did so without breaking a sweat. In one of the worst batting collapses in recent memory, New Zealand dished out a rather sub-standard performance, and from 63/2, lost their final eight wickets for all of 16 runs.
Yes, you read that right.India ran a demolition derby over New Zealand to win the decider at Visakhapatnam by a whopping 190 runs, their fourth-largest win in ODIs in terms of runs. New Zealand were overwhelmed by the Indian spinners and folded for 79, their fifth-lowest total in ODIs. Amit Mishra led the pack with a second five-wicket-haul that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. He was also named Man of the Series for picking up 15 wickets.
The opening act of the win was set by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who struck crucial half-centuries at two equally pivotal stages of the innings after MS Dhoni called it right at the toss and decided to bat first. New Zealand, as it panned out, scored only 9 more than Rohit’s 70. An indication how clueless their batting was. Only three batsmen reached double figures and five registered ducks.
In an even first innings, India put up three valuable partnerships and New Zealand broke it when it mattered. India however, were pleased to get to 269/6 due to slog-over heroics from Kedar Jadhav and Axar Patel after the game seemed to be going either way at a stage. Four of the five matches at Vizag have been won by the side chasing. Not this time though.
India were given an early advantage when Umesh Yadav removed Martin Guptill for his second duck of the series. It was almost a replay of his dismissal at the Kotla – a perfect away swinger which clipped Guptill’s thigh pad and crashed onto the stumps. On other occasions, Umesh was full and Tom Latham, confident of the form he’s been in, drove him handsomely for a couple of boundaries early on before the two-paced nature of the surface got the better of him.
Kane Williamson did the same. What stands out about him is his foot movement – rarely is he seen stuck while playing his shots. With back-to-back boundaries off Jasprit Bumrah, Williamson was beginning to look authoritative but his little charge was halted by Axar Patel who was immaculate with his wicket-to-wicket line. A half-hearted loft towards long off saw the back of him. Ross Taylor struggled for the most part of his innings as well and offered a feather to Dhoni going for a cut.
And that opened the floodgates. Mishra foxed BJ Watling with a dream googly, and followed it with the wickets of Jimmy Neesham and Tim Southee in the next over. Neesham dismissal was a ripped with the ball turning viciously to take his off stump, while Dhoni completed yet another lightning quick stumping – of Southee. With New Zealand falling like a pack of cards, debutant Jayant Yadav had his moment in the sun, trapping Corey Anderson leg before for his maiden international wicket.
Ish Sodhi top edged to Rahane and gave Mishra his fifth.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane gave India their slowest start of the series – 45 runs in the first 10 overs. They got the odd boundary but lacked fluency in the overall scoring. Rahane initially cracked two fours in two overs to settle things but was later bogged down. Batting wasn’t easy – the balls mostly came slower off the surface. Southee and Trent Boult did well to roll their fingers over the ball.
Its reward went to Neesham, who had Rahane chipping to midwicket. Williamson did the right thing by introducing Mitchell Santner and Sodhi which tightened things. Even the arrival of Virat Kohli didn’t help much and India were reduced to scoring less than five an over. It was more of a caution by choice.
In between, Rohit timed a couple of good hits – a six over long off and a boundary towards square leg. The floodgates though really opened when Rohit advanced to Sodhi and sent him over the sidescreen. Having twisted his ankle while diving for a single, he accelerated the innings with poised support from Kohli. With a cracking cut, Rohit brought up his 29th fifty in ODIs. A forward punch for six off Neesham stood out.
With Rohit connecting and finding the boundaries, Kohli bided his time. Oddly enough, the gap between his first and second boundary was 11 overs. Such was the difficulty India faced. The batsmen were helped by a dropped chance each. Rohit, going for one shot too many, miscued a Boult bouncer to find Neesham.
Kohli, who attempted at breaking the shackles in the 30th over from Sodhi. He dispatched the legspinner over the long-off boundary and MS Dhoni followed it up with a four. The re-introduction of seamers helped India’s run-scoring. And for a change, it was Dhoni reaping the benefit of it. He targeted the area between square leg and fine leg, and scored three four in that direction. Dhoni and Kohli brought up the fifty-run stand, but just when it seemed they were setting the stage for a flourishing finish, Dhoni missed a sweep and was trapped leg-before by Santner.
New Zealand then hit back. Manish Pandey slogged to Sodhi four balls later. Kohli had to fight hard for his 38th ODI fifty, but perished in order to lift the scoring. That India somewhat recovered to reach the score they did from 220 owed to a gutsy effort from Jadhav. He got three fours and a six at the dying stages of the innings. He and Axar added 46 in 39 balls to give India what seemed a slight edge at the innings break.
Brief scores:India 269/6 (Rohit Sharma 70, Virat Kohli 65; Trent Boult 2/52) beatNew Zealand 79 all out (Williamson 27; Mishra 5/18) by 190 runs to win series 3-2.
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Dhoni during a practice session in Vishakhapatnam. (AP Photo) VISAKHAPATNAM: The main focus at the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Stadium practice arena was on India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was seen taking tennis ball throwdowns, to get used to the bounce of the pitch on the eve of the series-deciding fifth and final game against New Zealand on Saturday.
After that Dhoni faced the conventional white ball and practised his trademark shots in a lengthy session at the nets.
A fit-again pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the last ODI in Ranchi, bowled with vigour as eight Indian players turned up for the optional practice session.
The weather remained bright and sunny, clearing any apprehension of a downpour due to cyclone Kyant, which has subsided.
Head coach Anil Kumble engaged in a long one-on-one session with Kedar Jadhav, who has stunned many with his exploits, picking up six wickets from four matches.
The series poised at 2-2, India’s other top-order batsmen — Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli — stayed away from the nets.
Included in place of Bumrah in the last one-day international, Dhawal Kulkarni bowled full and lacked control in Ranchi, conceding 8.42 runs per over for his 1/57 as New Zealand got off to a splendid start.
With Bumrah looking fit, he may be brought back into the playing XI on Saturday.
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Taylor termed India outstanding at home. (Getty Images) VISAKHAPATNAM: Eyeing a historic bilateral ODI series win in India, New Zealand senior batsman Ross Taylor on Thursday said they are hungry to win the five-match series decider on Saturday and make up for the 0-3 whitewash in Tests.
“You don’t often win series away from home especially in the sub-continent. It’s a pretty exciting time. Hopefully we can get better than what we have in the past,” the former New Zealand captain told the New Zealand Cricket website as they checked into the coastal Andhra city this evening.
New Zealand have never won a bilateral ODI series against India in India.It is in sharp contrast to their 18-11 record in India in a multi-team tournament.
But having defeated India by 19 runs in Ranchi yesterday, Kane Williamson and Co are determined to return home on a high after being on the road since the Zimbabwe tour in July.
“Four months on the road becomes tough but going into a decider it’s pretty easy to get up for. We have not won a series here. We are looking forward to it. We know what we need to do to win here,” Taylor, who had captained the side on their last tour in 2010 in a 0-5 result, added.
Terming India ‘outstanding at home’ he said: “Hopefully we can continue the progress we have made in the last couple of games. Hopefully we can replicate our performance in three days time.”
Williamson read the conditions beautifully in Ranchi to opt to bat as Martin Guptill’s 72 took them to 260/7 which proved to be a winning total on a difficult Ranchi wicket.
“It was a pretty tough wicket. Martin and Latham got us to a good start. Once the ball got softer, it showed how tough it was to rotate the strike.
“Kane was struggling out there as well. But we were always confident to defend 260. We picked up crucial wickets along the way. Happy with the result. Going into the match with six bowlers gave Kane a bit of leeway with the bowling changes. It was pretty tough once the ball got a bit older. But we knew we had to keep wickets in hand. It was never going to be easy to score 80 or 90 in the last 10.”
Winter may have already set in Ranchi, but surprisingly there was no dew yesterday.
“We were fortunate that there was no dew out there. It shows a lot of character, not only from the side but the team management. We have been on the road for a long period of time but three more days to get ourselves up for a very crucial match.”
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