Rejuvenated Team Tigers meets reigning world champion Three Lions England today in its second warm up match at Guwahati. Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan mentioned the Bangladesh mission as a reality check during the Asia Cup.
Today will be true reality check whether the impressive Bangladesh win in the first warm up match Thursday 29th September 2023 was a flash in the pan. Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali will take stern test of Bangladesh batsmen. At the same time Taskin, Mustafizur, Shoriful will have to prove their mettle against free stroking Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, David Malan, Liam Livingstone, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali. England is the reigning champion and is among the top favorites of CWC 2023.
Though a warmup match yet England will not take Bangladesh lightly as Bangladesh beat them in 2011 and 2015 in the World Cup. In fact, England started turning around after getting knocked out by Bangladesh from CWC 2015 at Adelaide Oval. We still remember the heroics of Mahmudullah Riad with the bat and Rubel Hossain with the ball. Rubel is not there but Mahmudullah stays. Hope Bangladesh will draw inspiration from the memories of Adelaide Oval and Chattogaram. England has transformed cricket mixing T20 and test match in their Bazball style. England has just arrived in England from an impressive performance against full strength New Zealand at home. Bangladesh on the other hand has not too sweet memories against depleted New Zealand team. But cricket is a funny game where records often turn into mere numbers. Many Bangladeshi players will play against English Lions for the first time.
England Squad: Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingston, David Malan, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, and Chris Woakes
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan, Litton K Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Nazmul Hossein Shanto, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riad, Mehedi Hasan Miraj, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman , Hasan Mahmood, Nasum Ahmed, Shekh Mahedi Hasan and Tanjim Ahmed Shakib.
English team appears to have all ends covered. Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow can be very aggressive at the start. David Malan is another aggressive batsman at the top. England has option to let Moeen Ali as a floater. Joe Root and Ben Stokes are among the top batsmen in the world. If England, make good start they can blast any team out of the match. Liam Livingston and Sam Curran give depth and diversity. Even Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes are good enough for quick fire 30-40 runs. Bangladesh bowlers have their works cut out. They must remain unflustered even if England makes punishing start with the bat. Bangladesh spinners must bowl tight. Hope Shakib is match fit and plays today. Him and Miraj must take strength from their match winning efforts in test at SBNCS Dhaka against England taking 10 wickets in a session.
Tanzid Tamim will get great opportunity to test his skills against raw pace of Mark Wood and seam=swing of Chris Woakes or Sam Curran. Litton must try to dig deep. Hope Nazmul Shanto appears with his steady form. But success will largely depend on Mushfique and Mahmudullah two veterans. We are not sure whether Shakib should be risked today. Work is also cut out for Towhid Hridoy and Mehedy Miraj with the bat. Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid will also test Bangladesh batting if the wicket has grip and turn. Bangladesh should bat against England giving them a test of warm and humid Guwahati. England has just travelled from cold England and their match against India was rained out. Bangladesh scoring 280-300 will put England to test. Even a good fight of Bengal Tigers will give them great confidence for their first match against Afghanistan on 7 October at Dharmshala .England will be their second opponent.
BDST: 0934 HRS, OCT 02, 2023
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