adminIT’S becoming increasingly difficult to predict playing XIs from both sides, who aren’t afraid to tinker with their combinations in their quest to narrow down on an ideal combination going into the World T20 in India.
The two sides meet in their third T20 International today.
Both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have to play in the preliminary round, also featuring Oman, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Scotland, Ireland and Netherlands, with the top two teams progressing. That means both sides will want to throw the younger players into the deep end, to see how they acclimatise to the pressure.
That Bangladesh are sitting pretty with a 2-0 lead means the time is ripe for them to unleash their bench strength. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, are still smarting from their series loss to Afghanistan in the UAE. Ordinary performances in the first two games means they are running out of time.
They rested the designated captain Elton Chigumbura among three players in the last game. It remains to be seen if they are brought back in at a crunch time. That apart, they will also need impact players like Sikandar Raza and Luke Jongwe to come good if they are to challenge the hosts in conditions as sub continental as they can get.
With Bangladesh missing Mushfiqur Rahim due to a hamstring injury, even as Mustafizur Rahman and Al-Amin Hossain, their best seamers on show in the first two games, have been rested, Zimbabwe will hope to cash in on the relative inexperience of some of the Bangladesh players.
Among them, Sabbir Rahman will be keenly followed after his impressive outing in the previous game that also earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. – ESPNCricinfo
Online Reporter