BANGLADESH V SRI LANKA PREVIEW, MATCH 18, MELBOURNE
Sri Lankahas reason to be happy at the prospect of taking onBangladeshin Melbourne on Thursday (February 25). Having struggled to put in a convincing performance in two games so far at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, Sri Lanka needs a spark, the all-important big win, that can ignite its campaign. And which better team to face at such a time than one it has a 32-4 record against?
While the record is impressive, Sri Lanka will be wary. A look at the Pool A table suggests that Bangladesh has been the ‘better’ side. They are third, behind New Zealand and Australia, thanks largely to a 105-run win against Afghanistan and the washout against Australia in Brisbane, which earned it a point.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, was at the receiving end of New Zealand’s exuberance in the World Cup opener, losing by 98 runs. It then got more than a scare before eventually winning by four wickets against Afghanistan, with just ten balls remaining, thanks largely toMahela Jayawardena’scentury.
“What we need to learn is to dominate from ball one and stay in the game till the end,” said Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, on Wednesday.
For that to happen, Sri Lanka needs both batting and bowling to click in tandem. In its two games so far, that hasn’t happened. Against New Zealand, the bowlers gave away 331 runs and the batsmen managed just 233 in reply. In the next match, the less-experienced Afghan batsmen were restricted to 232, but Sri Lanka conceded 23 runs in extras, including 16 wides and a no-ball. The top order then crumbled and Sri Lanka was reduced to 18 for 3 before Jayawardena steadied the ship with Mathews, and Thisara Pererathen provided the finishing touches.
What was encouraging for Sri Lanka was thatLasith Malingawas finally amongst the wickets, having returned from ankle surgery for the World Cup. He nipped out the Afghanistan middle order to return 3 for 41, proof that his return to form and fitness is key for Sri Lanka’s plans.
“Lasith (Malinga) is working extremely hard at the nets,” said Mathews. “One has to be at the peak when the quarterfinals come, and he and the others are working towards that.”
Bangladesh, meanwhile, heads into the game on the back of an extended break. It didn’t have it tough against Afghanistan, its only real match of the tournament, and the 105-run win came on the back of starring performances from their big players –Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafe Mortaza.
Following the Cyclone Marcia-forced washout, it would, hopefully, have used the break to pinpoint the reasons for its poor record against Sri Lanka. In February last year, Sri Lanka blanked Bangladesh 3-0 in an ODI series in Bangladesh, winning each match quite comfortably. Then, in the Asia Cup clash that followed in Mirpur, Sri Lanka edged a three-wicket victory.
In the build up to this match, Bangladesh’s preparations were dealt a blow when Mushfiqurtook a knock on his hand during training. However, he is expected to play come Thursday.
The team, however, isn’t reading too much into past records. “If we lost to Sri Lanka in the past it meant we did not play those games well, it's as simple as that,” saidMortaza, the captain. “If we do well there is no reason why we can't beat them.
“We have defeated Sri Lanka in recent times and can do so again if we play to our potential. We are familiar with their players, who have a lot of experience. But then it takes just one ball to get a batsman out. The important thing is to stick to our plans.”
Bangladesh suffered a bit of a distraction in the lead-up when Al-Amin Hossain, the paceman, was sent home after breaching team rules, andShafiul Islamwas named his replacement. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be without Jeevan Mendis, the allrounder, for the rest of the campaign after he suffered a hamstring injury during training.
Bangladesh must be itching to stay where it is on the points table and Sri Lanka will be desperate to go past it. These are crucial clashes in terms of the quarter-final positions and with sterner tests to come, both teams know a win on Thursday is imperative.
England’s bowling has been under the scanner for a while now, especially with James Anderson and Stuart Broad having just returned from injuries.
The two of them sat out of their team’s World Cup 2015 warm-up game on Monday (February 9) against West Indies in Sydney, but a young pace attack, led by Chris Woakes, raised hopes with a quality display.
England, asked to field after losing the toss, bowled West Indies out for 122 in 29.3 overs with Woakes bagging 5 for 19 from 7.3 overs and Steven Finn returning 2 for 34. The batsmen then made little fuss in getting past the target, surging to 125 for 1 from 22.5 overs.
Not far from the SCG, Bangladesh put on a good show with the bat but Mohammad Irfan’s five-wicket haul and Sohaib Maqsood’s unbeaten 93 set up a three-wicket win for Pakistan in its first warm-up tie.
Electing to bat after winning the toss, Bangladesh shook off a shaky start to reach 246 in 49.5 overs with Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah scoring 81 and 83 respectively. In response, Pakistan too showed signs of rust early on but held it together to get to 247 for 7 from 48.1 overs.
England and West Indies needed to get their acts in place going into the marquee event, starting on February 14, and this warm-up fixture was the best platform to do so.
England came into the tie having suffered a 112-run loss in the hands of Australia in the final of the triangular series and West Indies was looking to regroup following a 4-1 defeat to South Africa in their five-match One-Day International series. While West Indies came away with little on the plus side, England had plenty of positives to look at going forward.
At the start, it was Woakes and his opening spell – he was on a hat-trick in the first over of the game itself when he sent back Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo. The hat-trick didn’t come, but Woakes accounted for Dwayne Smith a few overs later. With the top order back in the hut, West Indies needed a responsible showing from their middle order, but barring Lendl Simmons (45), no one made the opportunity for batting practice count.
England’s bowlers were beneficiaries of poor shot selection from a number of West Indies batsmen, but the discipline the bowlers showed from start to finish was a good sign, and augurs well with one more warm-up tie – against Pakistan on February 11 – to come before England takes on Australia in its opening World Cup tie on February 14 in Melbourne.
From West Indies’ point of view, the way Jason Holder troubled Ian Bell and Moeen Ali, the England openers, with his bounce was among the few promising signs. Holder, Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach were expensive but they were effective when they managed to land it in the right areas. Unfortunately for West Indies, those occasions were too few and far between. Moeen scored a chance-ridden 46, while Bell looked composed en route to his unbeaten 35, and James Taylor scored 25 not out.
West Indies next faces Scotland on February 12 before its opening World Cup tie against Ireland on February 16 at Saxton Oval.
To see the full scorecard of the match between England and West Indies, please click here.
At Blacktown Olympic Park Oval, a 168-run third-wicket partnership between Iqbal and Mahmudullah stabilised the innings for Bangladesh. But once they fell, Bangladesh lost the next eight wickets for a mere 62 runs with only Shakib Al Hasan putting up a fight with a 30-ball 31. Irfan returned figures of 5 for 52 from 9.5 overs while Yasir Shah bagged two wickets.
The win would have come as relief for Pakistan, which hasn’t had the best run in the 50-over format in recent times. Maqsood’s 90-ball innings also bodes well for the side, but there was some bad news for Pakistan as Sohail Khan, the medium pacer, was sidelined with a calf problem after bowling just six overs.
Rahat Ali and Nasir Jamshed, replacements for Junaid Khan and Mohammad Hafeez respectively, will join the squad on Wednesday and are likely to feature in Pakistan’s next warm-up fixture.
To see the full scorecard of the match between Bangladesh and Pakistan, please click here.
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Bangladesh, meanwhile, heads into the game on the back of an extended break. It didn’t have it tough against Afghanistan, its only real match of the tournament, and the 105-run win came on the back of starring performances from their big players – Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafe Mortaza.
Following the Cyclone Marcia-forced washout, it would, hopefully, have used the break to pinpoint the reasons for its poor record against Sri Lanka. In February last year, Sri Lanka blanked Bangladesh 3-0 in an ODI series in Bangladesh, winning each match quite comfortably. Then, in the Asia Cup clash that followed in Mirpur, Sri Lanka edged a three-wicket victory.
In the build up to this match, Bangladesh’s preparations were dealt a blow when Mushfiqur took a knock on his hand during training. However, he is expected to play come Thursday.
The team, however, isn’t reading too much into past records. “If we lost to Sri Lanka in the past it meant we did not play those games well, it's as simple as that,” said Mortaza, the captain. “If we do well there is no reason why we can't beat them.
“We have defeated Sri Lanka in recent times and can do so again if we play to our potential. We are familiar with their players, who have a lot of experience. But then it takes just one ball to get a batsman out. The important thing is to stick to our plans.”
Bangladesh suffered a bit of a distraction in the lead-up when Al-Amin Hossain, the paceman, was sent home after breaching team rules, and Shafiul Islam was named his replacement. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be without Jeevan Mendis, the allrounder, for the rest of the campaign after he suffered a hamstring injury during training.
Bangladesh must be itching to stay where it is on the points table and Sri Lanka will be desperate to go past it. These are crucial clashes in terms of the quarter-final positions and with sterner tests to come, both teams know a win on Thursday is imperative.
Teams (from)
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews (capt), Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake.
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Anamul Haque, Arafat Sunny, Mahmudullah, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tajiul Islam, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.