2nd T20I, Bangladesh vs Australia: Match preview and stats
What's the story
Australia will be looking to seal the T20I series against Bangladesh on Friday after a stellar performance in the previous match. Cooper Connolly, who had scored a brilliant 149 in the last ODI, continued his form with a quickfire 47 in the first T20I. He hit seven boundaries and three sixes, but Tim David and Matt Renshaw's lack of support raised concerns for Australia. Ahead of the match, we decode key details.
Bowling prowess
Can Bangladesh bounce back?
Australia's bowlers, especially the spinners Adam Zampa and newcomer Joel Davies, did a great job of putting Bangladesh under pressure. They took nine wickets with spin, leaving the Bangladeshi batters struggling. Despite a strong start in the powerplay, all of their main batters (except Shamim Hossain) fell while trying to hit sixes. Stand-in captain Towhid Hridoy and Soumya Sarkar failed to provide enough support for the middle order.
Bowling concerns
Will Bangladesh make any changes?
Bangladesh are considering changes to their bowling attack with Nahid Rana and Taskin Ahmed available. Abdul Gaffar Saqlain, who made his T20I debut in the first match, picked up two wickets but didn't have much impact on the game. He was sent at No. 6 for match-up purposes but it didn't really work out as expected.
Team strategy
Probable XIs of the 2 teams
Australia may stick to the same combination for the second T20I, but an extra batter could be added. AUS probable XI: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Matt Renshaw, Nikhil Chaudhary, Joel Davies, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson and Adam Zampa. BAN probable XI: Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Parvez Hossain Emon (wk), Towhid Hridoy (capt), Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Abdul Gaffar Saqlain, Rishad Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.
Match conditions
Pitch report, weather forecast, timing and H2H record
The pitch at Chattogram is expected to have more turn than pace and bounce. Bangladesh learned the hard way that these pitches are good enough for a total of 160 or 170 due to the afternoon start. However, rain is likely to stay away from match hours on Friday. The match is set to start at 1:30pm IST. In terms of the H2H record, the two teams have met 12 times. Australia own an 8-4 win-loss record.
Numbers
Player focus: Here are the stats
In 86 matches, Marsh owns a tally of 2,233 runs at 33.32. He has one hundred and 13 fifties up his sleeves. David is 33 runs shy of the 6,500-run mark in overall 20 overs format. From 333 matches (298 innings), he owns 6,467 runs at 30.79. David has hit 23 fifties and a ton. Mustafizur has amassed 159 scalps for Bangladesh at 20.93. Overall in the 20-over format, he owns 419 wickets.
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