Confident Bangladesh are eying a good start to ODI series against the visiting West Indies as the first match will be held in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Sunday.
Bangladesh camp have a positive headache ahead of the first ODI as all the top-order batsmen are in good form, and the Tigers need to choose between Imrul Kayes, Liton Kumar Das and Soumya Sarkar as the opening partner of Tamim Iqbal.
Tamim has just returned to full fitness ahead of the ODI series, and struck an impressive hundred against the Windies in the practice match at BKSP Thursday.
The left-handed opener returned to competitive action following almost two and a half months after injuring himself during the Asia Cup in September this year in the UAE.https://t.co/rxeBg0Jyi5#BANGLADESHCRICKET #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #WESTINDIES #WINDIES
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) December 8, 2018
Before being injured in the Asia Cup, Tamim had scored 541 runs in nine innings at an average of 90.16 this year.
Imrul blasted two hundreds and a 90-odd innings in the last ODI series against Zimbabwe, while Soumya hit a century in his last ODI knock.
So it seems Bangladesh may open the innings with Tamim and Imrul with Soumya coming out to bat at No 3.
Shakib al Hasan has been batting at No 3 in the last few years for the Tigers.
So if Soumya bats at No 3 then Shakib might have bat in the middle-order.
According to the team management, all these decisions will be taken before the final hour, after observing the pitch.
Captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza admitted that the Windies will be a competitive opposition in the 50-over format, and that the series will be a challenging one for the Tigers.
“The West Indies have quality fast bowlers. And also, they have quite a few big hitters in their batting line-up. Such things usually help in this kind of format. We have to make sure that they do not form big partnerships in batting. We have to implement our plan properly in the field. I don’t think the series will be as easy as the Test series, or recent tournaments. We have to work very hard and play as a team to bring the result in our favour in this series against the West Indies,” said Mashrafe.
The Tigers captain also hinted that Bangladesh will not rely on spinners solely in the ODI series, and that they will play with three pacers in the playing XI.
The West Indies were beaten comprehensively in the Test series 2-0, but the 50-over format will be a different ball game altogether.
#Windies out to avenge home series defeat https://t.co/hilPe9k8Lo
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) December 8, 2018
Although they are missing their influential captain Jason Holder due to injury, the inclusion of the experienced trio - Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite - in the team will certainly bolster their line-up against the Tigers.
Record shows that the Windies are comparatively a better competitor in the shorter formats.
Recently, the West Indies played a full series against India last month where the former lost the ODI series 3-1.
Although they lost the series, the Windies played competitive cricket there, and even tied a match.
“It bodes well for the West Indies to have two experienced guys (Samuels and Bravo) who can take on spin bowling. They will definitely carry the batting along with youngsters like myself, [Shimron] Hetmyer and Shai Hope,” said West Indies stand-in captain Rovman Powell during the pre-match press conference in Mirpur yesterday.
Toss could be an important factor in Mirpur as all the matches in the series are day-night encounters.
The captain always said participation in the election will not hamper his game as he will be always focused on cricket until the next @cricketworldcup.https://t.co/CErrLsivYr#CRICKET #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #WINDIES #CWI #WESTINDIES #WEST #INDIES
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) December 8, 2018
Generally in this time of the year, dew comes in after evening.
Usually, Mirpur offers good batting wickets for the team taking first guard, but due to the dew factor, the side winning the toss might chose to bowl first.
The match will start at 1pm local time Sunday.
