2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Preview & Betting Tips
Australia vs Bangladesh
Antigua, Friday 21st June, 10:30am AEST
Australia
Predicted XI: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa
The group stage stage is completed and now thanks to the ICC’s baffling pre tournament seeding, the tournament essentially begins again. The Australians gained nothing from topping Group B undefeated, and were seeded as B2 despite going undefeated meaning they are in the same Super Eight group as India.
Australia will have a tricky task against three sub continent nations in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India, needing to finish in the top two of their group to qualify for the Semi Finals. Australia plays India last in the Super Eight phase, so essentially the Aussies will need to win their next two games to advance.
In their final group game which was a dead rubber, the Australians produced a later flurry with the bat to get over the line against a spirited Scotland. Australia required 87 from 39 deliveries in pursuit of 181, before Marcus Stoinis smashed a 59 off 29 and a handy cameo from Tim David (24* off 14).
With wickets falling around him, Travis Head played an important knock recording 68, however it was far from Head’s most fluent knock - coming off 49 balls at a strike rate of only 132.
It was Australia’s worst performance with the ball and in the field so far at the tournament, conceding their highest score for the tournament of 5/180 as well as dropping six catches. It does show the quality of this Australian side that they can win despite not being at their best, and they got some much needed game time for Ashton Agar.
Expect Australia to go with their preferred eleven for this clash which will see Cummins and Hazlewood replace Ellis and Agar. Nathan Ellis has been excellent for Australia, but it’s clear the selectors have Australia’s Test stars ahead of him.
Bangladesh
Predicted XI: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman
Bangladesh booked their ticket to the Super Eight stage with a nervy 21 run victory over Nepal in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Bangladesh looked in trouble after being bowled out for 106 however Tanzim Hasan Sakib (4/7) and Mustafizur Rahman (3/7), tore through the Nepal top order as they were all out for 85.
Bangladesh finished second in Group D with three wins from four games, with their only defeat a 4 run loss to South Africa, a game they should have won. Bangladesh picked up wins over Sri Lanka (2 wickets), Netherlands (25 runs) and Nepal (21 runs).
Towhid Hridoy is Bangladesh’s leading run scorer with 95 runs at an average of 23.75 with a strike rate 125. It hasn’t been an overly fruitful campaign for Bangladesh with the bat with Hridoy being the 19th highest run scorer overall.
With the ball it’s a different story as Tanzim Hasan Sakib (9 wickets, equal 2nd), Mustafizur Rahman (7, equal 4th), Rishad Hossain (7, equal 4th) and Taskin Ahmed (7, equal 4th) all amongst the leading wicket takers at the tournament.
Unlike Australia, Bangladesh have only played two of their four games in the Caribbean with scores of 5/159 and 106 in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Match Prediction
This game being played in Antigua suits Australia, given it’s been arguably the best batting surface seen at the tournament. Scotland chased down 150 in 13.1 overs against Oman, Australia chased down 72 in 5.4 overs against Namibia, England chased down 47 in 3.1 overs against Oman and England scored 5/122 in 10 overs in a rain affected match. Bangladesh’s strength with the ball could be nullified by these conditions, while Australia will be looking to continue their excellent run of form with the bat.
Namibia’s batsmen couldn’t handle the hard lengths Australia bowled, and with the extra bounce that the pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium provides, it’s going to be tough work for an out of form Bangladesh batting unit to produce a winning score. Australia have a 6-4 record in T20 Internationals against Bangladesh, with all four of Bangladesh’s wins coming in one series back in 2021 a series that was played on one of the worst pitches the game has ever seen. Australia have played against Bangladesh on neutral venues in T20 World Cup fixtures four times and have won all four games, and they’ll continue that run on Friday morning.
Once again the Aussies are short priced in the H2H markets, so we move our attention to the prop bets.
Marcus Stoinis has been on an absolute tear at this World Cup, ranking as the third highest run scorer at the tournament. Stoinis has scored 167 runs at an average of 78 with a strike rate of 190 - the highest strike rate for any player with more than 50 runs. Stoinis has produced knocks of 67*, 30 and 59 in his three knocks, and provides tremendous value to be Australia’s top run scorer.
Marcus Stoinis Top Australian Run Scorer
$7.50 (1 Unit)
