02:00 PM UTC: Bangladesh vs Scotland, Group B, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Al Amerat
Scotland will have a tough task in this game as the team laces on to face Bangladesh in its opening T20 World Cup fixture. Bangladesh lost the warm-up fixtures but now the team has its ace bowler and batter Shakib-al-Hasan back in the composition. Meanwhile, Scotland is one of the two favorites along with Bangladesh in the group.
Bangladesh has a strong batting lineup with the experienced Mahmudullah, Shakib-al-Hasan, and Mushfiqur Rahim in the middle. Meanwhile, opener Soumya Sarkar, along with Afif Hossain and Nurul Hasan can give Scotland bowlers a lot of trouble. The full-strength Bangladesh side is coming off series wins versus Australia and New Zealand while also beating Zimbabwe two-one.
Scottish men rely heavily upon hard-hitter George Munsey who has a career strike rate of 153 to produce runs up-front. Meanwhile, captain Kyle Coetzer, Richie Berrington, and Matthew Cross will play stabilizing roles. The team may not show much strength in the middle-order, an area where Bangladesh has an overwhelming advantage.
In terms of bowling, Bangladesh pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin can pose challenges on a grassy wicket of Al Amerat. On the other hand, the spin bowling of Shakib-Al-Hasan, Medhi Hasan, and Nasum Ahmed can make life difficult for the batters of Scotland.
For Scotland, It will be interesting to see how spinner Mark Watt performs since he can be a game-changer. Josh Davey and Brad Wheal can be used as seaming options on the turf of Al Amerat but Michael Leask will also have to step up a spin-bowling option. How will the Scottish men tackle a loaded Bangladeshi team?