The twelfth match of the 2019 Cricket World Cup will witness hosts and title favourites England locking horns with the Asian nation of Bangladesh.
The English start as firm favourites to outlast the subcontinent team in the first encounter between both sides in this tournament.
England reinforced their status as favourites by handsomely winning their first World Cup match against South Africa in what was a commendable display in all three departments.
The second match however saw a reversal of fortunes as Pakistan edged them out by 14 runs in a run-feast at Trent Bridge.
On the other hand, Bangladesh upset South Africa after posting their best ever ODI score in history. Mashrafe Mortaza’s side then went down fighting against the mighty Kiwis in their second match.
Both sides are playing their third match and will be eager to register a second win.
TEAM NEWS
England (Probable XI): Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (WK), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Bangladesh (Probable XI): Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Mustafizur Rahman.
KEY BATTLES
Joe Root vs Shakib Al Hasan
Joe Root (ENG) vs Shakib Al Hasan (BAN)
Joe Root is currently one of the best batsmen in international cricket. The technically adept man from Yorkshire has a dogged mentality about him, and is capable of carrying the host nation on his broad shoulders.
He is the mainstay of the England batting and hence his country anticipates consistently brilliant displays from himself in the nation’s quest to lift the World Cup for the first time in its history.
Root is a prolific batsman and has an enviable record of having amassed as much as 5458 runs from 133 matches. This comes at a phenomenal average of 51.01 and a good strike rate of 87.41.
Arguably the best all-rounder of recent times, Shakib Al Hasan is the backbone of the Bangladesh team by all means.
Shakib is the crunch bowler for Bangladesh as he not only restricts the flow of runs, but also gets wickets at crucial junctures of the game.
The Bangladesh talisman is in red hot form and England needs to be wary of him when he arrives to ply his trade at the tricky Sophia Gardens wicket at Cardiff.
The ICC Number 1 All-rounder has picked up 252 International ODI wickets from 200 matches, and became the fastest cricketer to reach 250 wickets and 5000 runs in ODIs.
He has a decent average of 29.98 and a strike rate of 40.45. Shakib also has a stellar economy rate of 4.45 in ODIs.
The battle between Root and Shakib will be a great watch. Team Cricwizz expects the English batsman to have a slight edge though.
Jofra Archer vs Tamim Iqbal
Jofra Archer (ENG) vs Tamim Iqbal (BAN)
Jofra Archer has burst into the international scene with some fiery bowling performances off late. The Barbadian pacer was in the West Indies Under-19 team, and has been rather successful in reining in the batsmen since being a part of the English framework.
He has already taken the tournament by storm with his blazing spell in the inaugural match of this edition that left the Protea batsmen ragged and battered.
However, the match against Pakistan saw the young pacer not being as influential as he was in the first game. Archer has six wickets in his international career.
Tamim Iqbal’s role in the Bangladeshi team is understated and it is through the steady starts that he gives that the team gets a solid push.
The talented southpaw’s relevance in his team’s batting can not be emphasised enough.
Tamim has scored 6676 runs in 195 matches with a satisfactory average of 36.09. His strike rate of 77.97 is surprisingly low for a dasher, but the opener has been a really consistent player for the Tigers since he broke into the national squad.
This battle will be interesting, and we feel that Archer would have a definite edge over Tamim on the seaming Cardiff wicket.
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CricWizz Prediction:
Considering the team chemistry and form of the Englishmen pitted against the uncertainty that clouds the Bangladeshi team, one could only anticipate an England win by all means.
But Bangladesh are unpredictable in the World Cup, and can not be ruled out outrightly.
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