We have one match in the T20 World Cup on Monday and it comes from New York where Group D continues as two full member nations meet when two unbeaten sides collide as Bangladesh take on South Africa.
Bangladesh have played one and won it in this competition while South Africa have won both of the games they have taken part in. I think it is fair to say that neither have completely convinced but they are both in position to make the next stage and can enhance their position with a win here.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh had to wait what seemed like an entirety to get their T20 World Cup campaign underway and it is to their credit that when they did start out they were able to get off to a winning start against a Sri Lanka side who were actually the bookmaker favourites to beat them. We shouldn’t make out that there was much that was convincing about the display but they offered a lot more than many thought that they might in these conditions which was certainly a positive.
They really did come to the party with the ball in Dallas and that bodes well for them heading to New York where the bowlers have ruled the roost in the tournament so far. One issue though is their best bowler was a leg spinner and we haven’t seen much joy for the spinners here. This will be a test for the Bangladesh batters who are going to get peppered with pace and bounce, but to their credit they dealt with the Sri Lanka seamers, who can be tricky to face, well enough. That would have been good preparation for this test.
South Africa
South Africa have played two matches in the tournament so far and both have followed a very similar path. They blew Sri Lanka away with the ball, although that form hasn’t been franked since then, and just about contained the Netherlands enough with it but their two batting efforts has left a lot to be desired it has to be said. You can only win matches though and South Africa have done that but they will know they will need to convince a lot more with the bat when they get to the Caribbean leg of their journey.
In many ways though it is a blessing in disguise that South Africa have landed in New York for their opening three matches of their campaign because not many sides can boast the seam resources that they can, especially with the new ball, so someone is going to need to bat incredibly well to get away from them on here. They will want more from their batters, especially their top three, but ultimately a win here puts them into the second stage with a game to spare and nobody can ask for more than that.
Special Offer
Open a new Sporting Index account and bet £10 on the T20 World Cup (min odds 1/2) to get £20 in free bets (2x£10 free bets) to use on any sports market! Click the image below to take advantage of this great offer! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly.
Team News
Bangladesh were without Shoriful Islam in their opening game because he hadn’t recovered from the injury he picked up in the warm up match in time. His status is unknown but as a seamer if he is fit he is likely to go straight back into the side.
South Africa have no need to change their XI after a pair of wins but you wonder how many more failures their opening pair have got before Ryan Rickelton starts getting a look in for one of them. They might give the original choice another chance though.
Betting
I think this pitch is getting slightly easier to bat on than it was when South Africa played Sri Lanka in the first game here but the ball is still doing plenty and you do have to fear for this Bangladesh batting unit against this South African attack which is absolutely perfect for conditions. To be fair to Bangladesh though, their seamers went really well in their opening game and there was enough in that contest to suggest that they can be a threat to South Africa with the ball so I’m expecting the scoring to be low here, especially the boundaries. Bangladesh aren’t a powerful side with the bat and they’ll do well to power this South Africa attack around. So far the Proteas have conceded 14 boundaries in the two matches here and I’m not convinced Bangladesh are going to add many more to the tally. South Africa have only scored 15 themselves. The boundaries line for this one is 27.5 which is 2.5 higher than any total here so far. Based on the statistics and the conditions it looks too high again. I’ll play the under.
I’ll also have another go with Mahmudullah to be the leading batter for Bangladesh. He was one of just three batters to get into double figures against Sri Lanka but a couple of players had stolen a march on him and he ended up coming third but this South Africa attack offers no let up so there is every chance the experienced all-rounder will be in the game when he gets to the crease in this one. It has been pretty clear so far in New York that you have to be comfortable on the back foot and Mahmudullah is one of the more capable Bangladeshi batters in that regard so he should have an advantage from that. We’ve also seen this pitch gets easier to score in the second half of the innings which is where he bats so there is still enough juice in the 12/1 on him top scoring to have another go on him.
Tips
Back Under 27.5 boundaries for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back Mahmudullah Top Bangladesh Batter for a 1/10 stake at 13.00 with Bet365
