MUSCAT, OCT 16
Group B favourites Bangladesh are ready to unleash their best performance in their opening match of T20 World Cup 2021 in Muscat against Scotland on Sunday.
With a good blend of youth and experience, Bangladesh have all the ingredients to go deep into the tournament.
Captain Mohammad Mahmud Ullah, recently became the country’s most successful T20I captain after surpassing Mashrafe Mortaza in the first T20I against New Zealand.
The young Bangladeshi skipper said the team is poised to put in their best against Scotland.
“We are ready for the World Cup challenge. All players in the squad are pumped up to deliver their top-class performance,” Mahmud Ullah said during the pre-match press conference in Muscat on Saturday.
He said Bangladesh are aware of Scotland team’s fighting approach.
“We are aware of Scotland team’s strength. So we don’t want any hiccups in our performance. The players are fully fit and hopefully we will make a winning start to the tournament,” he added.
Top batters include Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim with Afif Hossain giving depth for the batting line-up.
Mohammad Naim and Liton Das are expected to give good start as the openers.
The Tigers will not be merely happy with qualifying for the Super 12 and will be aiming to make it to the knockout stage for the first time in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Mustafizur Rahman will be tasked with the responsibility to lead the bowling attack. Newcomer Nasum Ahmed has further strengthened the attack that also consists of Taskin Ahmed and Mohammad Saifuddin among others.
SCOTLAND SET FOR SOLID SHOW
Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer said his team will put in all efforts against higher-ranked Bangladesh in their first match of the group.
“We are poised to deliver our best performance in the tough encounter against Bangladesh.”
To a query on whether beating Oman and PNG recently in the WCL2 match at the World Cup venue would give them confidence for the Group B matches, Coetzer said the experience would serve good for them.
“We had played some good matches here at the Amerat Stadium and some close matches as well against hosts Oman and PNG. We were able to beat them in those games. We would play with the same spirit and I know these teams are capable of better performances.”
Coetzer said Bangladesh are a strong side and Scotland will try to match them in all aspects.
On a query on handling the bowling of star Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman, Coetzer said his side will take a professional approach in the game.
“Mustafizur is a top-class bowler. We have our own strategy to deal with all the Bangladesh bowlers in the match.”
Scotland had enjoyed their first ever victory at an ICC World Cup, beating Hong Kong in their final match of T20 World Cup 2016.
Scotland earned their first win after appearing in six World Cups.
Their first T20 World Cup was in 2009, on the back of their participation in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
Scotland have waited enough for their entry into the big stage and the skipper said the players are confident to go a level further.
“We have come up hard to secure our spot in this year’s tournament. We want to make our place on the biggest stage.”
“We have all-round skills as a team and lot of good individual players, but we believe the team spirit is our biggest strength,” Coetzer concluded.
SQUADS
Bangladesh
Mahmud Ullah (Captain), Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Saifuddin, Shamim Hossain
Reserves: Rubel Hossain, Aminul Islam Biplob
Scotland
Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richard Berrington, Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Ally Evans, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal.
Reserves: Michael Jones, Chris Sole.
Bangladesh vs Scotland
Sun 17 October
18:00 (OMAN TIME)
Oman Cricket Academy Ground, Al Amerat
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