The second part of the double header on the opening day of the T20 World Cup 2021 sees the two bigger sides in Group B battling it out when Bangladesh take on Scotland in a huge clash in the section in Oman.
While both teams will be expected to beat the other two sides in the group, whoever wins this match will ease the pressure going into those games and also allow them to build some confidence to move through the campaign with.
Bangladesh
All eyes will be on Bangladesh in this match because they are expected to dominate this section, and if they do that and keep everyone fit and get them into form in this group phase, there is no reason why they can’t progress to be major players when the established nations come into the event in the Super 12 stage. This will be a good test of their credentials in what looks like the toughest match of the three that they have, at least on paper.
We’ve seen Bangladesh in a good groove in T20 cricket recently, thrashing both Australia and New Zealand in home series but they were in conditions where the bat visibly dominated the ball. That might well turn out to be the case in this event too eventually but right now there should be more of a balance between bat and ball. That means the Tigers need their batsmen to step up to the plate here, and indeed throughout the early stages of the tournament.
Scotland
There is a case to be made that Scotland have a free hit in this contest in terms of the fact that Bangladesh look to be comfortably ahead of anything else in this group so defeat won’t be a disaster, but losing will mean there is no room to move in the last two games so it isn’t really a free shot. One thing is for certain, if Scotland win this match then they will put more than one foot into the Super 12s with two matches to play.
All eyes will be on the Scotland bowling attack in this match. That is the area of their play which can sometimes be a little too hit or miss so if they bowl well then there is no reason why they can’t put up a decent challenge in this contest. Scotland warmed up for this event with a couple of good wins in the warm up games including a victory over the Netherlands so they arrive at the tournament in fine fettle and ready to put up a show.
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Key Men
You would imagine if Bangladesh are going to go deep in this tournament then Shakib-al-Hasan is going to be a leading player for them. He’ll bat at number three and bowl four important overs. Having been in the IPL his knowledge of conditions will be vital later in the event.
Scotland are going to have to bowl well in this match if they are going to come out on top in it so all eyes will be on the man who has probably become the leader of their attack after a good county season in Brad Wheal. If he can take wickets up front it will help and if he can bowl well at the death he keeps Scotland in the game.
Betting
You would imagine Bangladesh will win this match. The big question is how much of a challenge Scotland can lay down and I expect them to perform creditably in this match. Their better chances of winning come in their final two matches so if they can put in a clean showing here and scare Bangladesh and give themselves a chance to win that will be very good. Bangladesh have the chance to lay a bit of a warning down here.
The bet I like in this match is for there to be more than 269.5 runs. That line looks very low because these are two sides who bat pretty deep and should have scores in the 140s within them. I guess the line is as low as it is because there is the feeling Bangladesh could roll Scotland over but there didn’t look to be much in the way of turn in the pitch in the opening game and it isn’t like Bangladesh have plenty of mystery in their attack. I think this will be higher scoring than expected so I like over 269.5 runs here.
Tips
Back Over 269.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
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