Hosts Bangladesh take on Australia in the first T20 of the 5-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Tuesday evening.

Bangladesh return home to face Australia as they look to ramp up their preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup. They come here following their hard-fought 2-1 series victory in Zimbabwe. The hosts will be without their premier players like Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim as they have been ruled out of the series due to various reasons.

Mohammed Naim will open with Soumya Sarkar, with the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Shamim Hossain and Afif Hossain in the middle order. Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman will be the new ball bowlers, with stiff competition between the others for the third seamer’s slot. Nasum Ahmed will partner Shakib in the spin department, with Mahmudullah and Afif Hossain capable of bowling some part-time spin in the middle phase.

This will be the last T20I series played by Australia before the T20 World Cup in October. They come here after being beaten 4-1 by the West Indies last month and will be looking for a huge improvement in this one. Key players such as David Warner, Steve Smith, all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, along with Pat Cummins, continue to miss out here.

Matthew Wade has been named skipper for this tour in the absence of Aaron Finch. Josh Phillipe and Ben McDermott are expected to open the batting, with Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey and Ashton Turner to slot in the middle order alongside the skipper. Josh Hazelwood and Mitchell Starc will play in the first match, with Adam Zampa being the premier spinner.

Although Australia will start the series as slight favorites given their unbeaten record against Bangladesh, the hosts are more than capable of giving a tough fight in their home conditions. Expect an entertaining game of T20 cricket to start this big series. 

Match Details

• Match: Bangladesh vs. Australia, 1st T20
• Venue: Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
• Date & Time: Aug. 3, 2021, at 5:30 PM IST/6 PM Local

Probable Playing XI

Bangladesh

Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah (C), Shamim Patwari, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan (W), Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam

Australia

Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Matthew Wade (C & WK), Ashton Turner, Dan Christian, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Weather and Pitch Report

The weather is expected to be mostly clear in Mirpur during the match. The temperature will be around 30 degrees during the game.

The pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium has been a good batting wicket. Despite some new ball movement from the pacers early on, expect the batters to dominate and play their shots with ease. The spinners are expected to play a big role with the slowness of the surface coming into play. The average first-innings score in the five T20Is played here has been 165 runs.

Given the recent record at this venue and the dew factor, expect the captain winning the toss to opt to field first. A first-innings score of around 170 runs can be a competitive one on this surface.

Top Fantasy Picks

Bangladesh

• Soumya Sarkar was outstanding and was adjudged the Player of the Series against Zimbabwe, making 126 runs and taking 3 wickets in three matches. He will continue to bat in the top order and will look to take on the strong bowling attack of Australia.   
• Shakib Al Hasan will be a key player for Bangladesh in the absence of Tamim and Mushfiqur. He had a decent T20 series against Zimbabwe, scoring 37 runs and picking up 3 wickets with the ball. Expect him to play a much bigger role here. 
• Shoriful Islam had a good tour of Zimbabwe, troubling the batters with his lines and not letting them score easily off his bowling. He took 11 wickets in five matches, out of which 6 were in the T20s. He took his best T20 figures of 3 for 33.

Australia

• Josh Philippe had a mixed start to his international career for Australia, scoring 119 runs in eight matches with a high score of 45. He struggled against spin in the West Indies and made just 14 runs in three T20s. He has a lot of potential and can deliver for his side at the top of the order.
• Mitchell Marsh had an outstanding series against the West Indies, where he ended up as the leading run scorer with 219 runs and 3 half centuries. Moreover, he was effective with the ball too, picking up 8 wickets. Expect more of the same from him here.
• Mitchell Starc has shown that there is no substitute for sheer pace and accuracy. He is one of Australia’s premium bowlers, with 48 wickets in his 39-match T20I career. He is in good form with 11 wickets in his last three matches coming here.

Howzat Dream Team

• Wicketkeeper: M Wade
• Batsmen: S Patwari, Mahmudullah, J Philippe
• All-rounders: S Al Hasan, S Sarkar, A Agar, M Marsh
• Bowlers: S Islam, M Starc, A Zampa

• Captain: A Zampa/M Marsh
• Vice Captain: S Al Hasan/Mahmudullah

NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can make your fantasy 11 and play fantasy cricket matches. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team suggested.

Get fantasy cricket tips on your favorite fantasy sports app and select your own team, Howzat!