The second and final Test between Bangladesh and England begins in Dhaka on Friday as England’s mini tour of the country concludes and after a very competitive opening match a really interesting game of cricket is expected.
England’s win in Chittagong means they go into this match knowing they can’t lose the series but with Test ranking points on the line they will be eager to avoid defeat here and claim a series win. Bangladesh will be looking to create history and win the match themselves.
Bangladesh
Despite having never beaten England in this format of the game in what has been nine attempts now, Bangladesh weren’t actually far away from doing it in the opening match and indeed had they batted first they might well have won. It will be interesting to see if they can back up that performance with another in a format of the game they have struggled for consistency in.
Bangladesh’s spinners were on the ball throughout the opening match and they batted with intent and a fair amount of quality. If they can just add a few more runs onto that then they will feel they are very much in the game here, and indeed they will be.
England
In conditions which are still alien to English players you have to give England credit for coming through and winning in Chittagong. It wasn’t without a few issues and room for improvement but this series was always all about acclimatising to these conditions and getting ready for the upcoming series in India.
The main area of concern for England was with their spinners who bowled too many loose deliveries and they will have to tighten up that area of their game both here and in India if they are going to remain successful. They can have no concerns over their batting although obviously it would be nice if the top order can contribute a little more.
Team News
Although they lost the opening match there isn’t too much that Bangladesh need to change. It could be that they drop a seamer and play the extra spinner in which case Shuvagata Hom could come into the side but that might be a little extreme.
England have confirmed they are making changes to keep some big players fresh and fit for the entire winter. Stuart Broad and Gareth Batty are sitting this one out with Steven Finn replacing Broad and Zafar Ansari getting a Test debut in place of his Surrey teammate.
Shere Bangla National Stadium
This will be the 15th time Test cricket has been staged on this Dhaka ground. You would have to say it isn’t the happiest of hunting grounds for the home side with them having just one win in those matches. They’ve managed three draws and been beaten on 10 occasions. England have won their only previous match here.
Historically this is a much higher scoring ground in the first innings than Chittagong but with the rain that has been around it will be interesting to see just how prepared the wicket is. If they have managed to work on it you would think it would turn quite early in the piece.
Betting
I thought Bangladesh were overpriced for this second Test even before England decided to rest Broad and Batty. I guess resting Broad isn’t too much of an issue as his impact in Chittagong from a statistics point of view was minimal but he carries plenty of experience and if this gets tight like it did in the first Test his absence could tell.
Bangladesh played some decent cricket in that first match so for them to be around the 5/1 mark makes little sense especially as they were competitive in all the ODIs too. There is a threat of weather around this match though so rather than take Bangladesh to win I’ll take them or the draw at an acceptable odds on against an England side who still look out of touch in these conditions.
The other bet I like the look of this week is the performance of Sabbir Rahman. He had a very encouraging Test debut and nearly got his side over the line in that run chase and that leads me to think he can cover a 74.5pt target. He made 103 in Chittagong and I would expect him to build on that here. Whether it is with bat alone or a combination of a cheap wicket or some catches on top I fancy he’ll make it to 75 over the five days.
Tips
WON – Back Bangladesh-Draw Double Chance for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Paddy Power
Back S.Rahman’s Performance – Over 74.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Paddy Power
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