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Bangladesh can ill-afford another shocking defeat as they face Oman

Bangladesh was found wanting on several counts against Scotland, as their boundaries dried up and they chewed up dot balls both in the Powerplay and in the death overs. In fact, they were only 25/2 in the Powerplay, a phase that has shown to be crucial in recent matches in the region.

Bangladesh can ill-afford another shocking defeat as they face Oman

Representational image: Twitter/@Mahmudullah30

Following the upset six-run defeat to Scotland on October 17, Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah has hinted at possible surprising changes for the First Round Group B ICC T20 World Cup match against Oman later on Tuesday.

Bangladesh, chasing 140, could only score 134 in a low-scoring encounter, giving Scotland an unexpected victory.

“Our batting order is a source of concern. We need to improve our batting average. Regardless matter the situation, we must play aggressive cricket. With Mohammad Saifuddin at No. 9, we have a strong batting line-up. It’s possible that we’ll have to make some adjustments “Mahmudullah stated.

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Bangladesh was found wanting on several counts against Scotland, as their boundaries dried up and they chewed up dot balls both in the Powerplay and in the death overs. In fact, they were only 25/2 in the Powerplay, a phase that has shown to be crucial in recent matches in the region.

Oman, the hosts, will be wary of Bangladesh’s shattered dignity, despite the co-hosts’ good spirits following a 10-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea (PNG). In the warm-up games, they gave Sri Lanka the shivers, and they’ll be looking to use all of their understanding of the game and their home stadium to beat Bangladesh.

If they manage to surprise Bangladesh, they will find themselves on two wins and in an excellent position to go through to the ‘Super 12’, though a loss will not end their campaign.

Bangladesh would be hoping their bowlers do a good job again — they had reduced Scotland to 53/6 on October 17 and spinners Mahedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan were especially effective in drying up the runs. However, Bangladesh might have to do some juggling with their batting.

For Oman, opener Jatinder Singh who top-scored for his side with an unbeaten 73 off 42 balls against PNG, will hold the key.

Captain Zeeshan Maqsood of Oman stated, “We need to improve our fielding and reduce our errors. Our catching is adequate, but we need to improve our ground fielding (we struggled) owing to anxiety. We can’t afford to take it easy, and we must remedy our errors.”

Possible Bangladesh XI: Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah (c), Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.
Possible Oman XI: Zeeshan Maqsood (c), Aqib Ilyas, Jatinder Singh, Khawar Ali, Kashyap Prajapati, Naseem Khushi (wk), Mohammad Nadeem, Ayaan Khan, Sandeep Goud, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan.

(With IANS inputs).

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