A few days ago, South Africa smashed England by 229 runs at the Wankhede. In the furnace of Mumbai, England had no answers to South Africa’s batting power and incisive bowling. It is difficult to envisage any team managing two such commanding wins in a row, but the Proteas would be eyeing another clinical show at the same ground against a Bangladesh side that are low on confidence.
At present, South Africa have touched an optimum level in terms of performance. Right from Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen, to Marco Jansen at No. 7, the batters have enough runs in the bank, while the pace bowlers and Keshav Maharaj, the left-arm spinner, have made regular incisions. Jansen rifling through a dispirited England with his pyrotechnics has taken care of the vexed question surrounding their batting depth. The one remaining question mark over South Africa is whether they can chase down targets under pressure.
Meanwhile, not a lot has gone according to plan for Bangladesh. Their only win so far has come against Afghanistan. Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Najmul Shanto, Mehidy Hasan and Mahmudullah have made some useful contributions. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, none of them have crossed the three-figure mark so far.
Bangladesh’s pace bowling unit is also a worry as Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud have taken just five wickets combined. Shoriful Islam’s five wickets have come at an average of 41.2 and an economy rate of 6.4. The one silver lining for Bangladesh is that Shakib Al Hasan, the skipper, batted in the nets on Sunday. So, he could make it to the playing XI.
Time and Venue Details
October 24 at 2:00PM IST. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Expected Conditions
The other day, England’s players struggled due to heat and humidity. So, the team winning the toss could opt to bat. The pitch is set to have even bounce, and there could be a hint of nip for the pacers in the second innings.
Possible XIs
Temba Bavuma, who was laid low by a stomach upset versus England, is expected to return at the expense of Hendricks, even though the backroom staff haven’t yet taken the final call. Bavuma, the skipper, hasn’t been in good touch in the tournament, having scored just 59 runs in three matches.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi.
Taskin has sustained a shoulder injury and could miss out. On the other hand, Shakib would likely slot back into the XI. Bangladesh might also consider the bowling all-rounder, Tanzim Sakib.
Bangladesh: Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Sakib/Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman.
Match-ups
Klaasen vs Bangladesh spinners: Klaasen, who punished England with a 61-ball century, has been in prime form, and possesses amazing bat-speed. In good batting conditions, Bangladesh’s finger-spinners need to find ways to prevent him from blazing away to another century.
Team Speak
“I enjoy scoring runs more than taking wickets; there’s not so much running involved. I just love batting. Whenever I bat, it gives me more joy. Bowling is more hard work.” – Marco Jansen, South African pace bowler.
“We have five matches left. Tomorrow, we have an important match against South Africa. If we can win that, we will regain our momentum and will be in a very good position.” Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh skipper.