Australia conclude their pretty hasty tour of Bangladesh on Monday when the two sides meet in the fifth and final T20 international in Dhaka, a match which currently offers up a last chance for preparation for the World T20 later in the year for the tourists.
Bangladesh have dominated the series and lead 3-1 and will feel their efforts deserve a 4-1 win. Australia have been all at sea in this series but can make the score look a little more respectful if they can win this closing game.
Bangladesh
Whether they had got carried away with winning the series the day before or just got giddy because they had been so confident in the series, Bangladesh will have been frustrated to lose the fourth game as it ended the chance of a whitewash which would have been pretty historic. In a rare occurrence in this series the Bangladesh batting was all at sea and although their bowlers fought hard to rescue the match, they were just left with too much to do.
I think that last match might have acted as a reality check for Bangladesh. They shouldn’t get carried away with the bat, especially as we have seen all series that they don’t need a huge total to be able to win matches. They have everything they need to get the job done here, they just need to bat sensibly and get up to something approaching a par score and then you would expect their bowlers will do the rest.
Australia
After what has been a difficult couple of tours for the T20 side both here and in the Caribbean, Australia enjoyed some solace in the previous match to finally get off the mark for the series. They made hard work of winning but you either enjoy these strained conditions or you don’t and quite simply they don’t. They had the right idea in the previous game though. I called for them to do something different and send in a pinch hitter and that is exactly what happened.
Ultimately that blitz from Dan Christian was what won Australia the match but if you take away the over he clubbed five sixes in, Australia scored at roughly four runs an over for the rest of their innings and that isn’t going to get the job done. When you think that sending in a pinch hitter carries plenty of risks and doesn’t always come off, someone else needs to stand up or a pinch hitter needs to come good again else this could be a long afternoon for the tourists.
Special Offer
Open up a BetVictor account and bet £5 to get £30 in bonuses! Click the image below for this standout new account offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly
18+ New Customers only. Deposit, opt in and place a £5 qualifying bet at odds of 2.00 or greater within 7 days of opening a new account; excludes cashed out bets. Receive 2x £10 Free Sports Bets, valid on set events only at odds 2.00 or greater, expires in 7 days. Plus a £10 Game Show Bonus, selected games, wager 40x to withdraw a max of £250. T&Cs Apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.
Team News
Bangladesh have so far resisted the temptation to make changes in the series and if they weren’t going to make switches when the series was won ahead of the previous match then it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to do it now.
Australia haven’t yet played Jason Behrendorff or Wes Agar in this series but you wouldn’t think either of them are contenders for the World Cup squad so they might not get included here. There is talk that Australia might play all three spinners.
Betting
Even in victory in the previous match Australia didn’t look wholly convincing so I think the prices on Bangladesh to win this match offer up some value. After a fair while away in the Caribbean and here, Australia’s players might see the lure of the plane home and maybe not be at their best in this match. Even if they are at their best, they have shown that they are unable to deliver the sort of performances they would want to in these conditions.
Bangladesh let themselves down with the bat in the previous match but even then it was nearly enough to get the win. I don’t think that would have been a bad thing because if they were getting giddy having won the series then that would have brought them back down to earth a little bit which is never a bad thing. Clearly one side are competent in these conditions and the other isn’t so I’ll take the side who are competent to claim the final match.
Tips
Back Bangladesh to beat Australia for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Betfair
Back them here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
