Australia and Bangladesh are set to open their Super 8 campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday (Friday IST) with a clash at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent. (Prediction | More Cricket News)
Australia were unbeaten in the group stage and have established themselves as the favourites for the tournament. The 2021 champions defeated Oman in their opening game and then overcame arch-rivals England in their second match. The Mitch Marsh-led side won against Namibia and Scotland to end the group stage on a perfect note.
Bangladesh played impressive cricket in the group stage with the bowling-friendly pitches helping their bowlers. Their first two games both went down to the wire where they won the first against Sri Lanka by two wickets but then lost the second to South Africa by just four runs.
The last two games saw them earning victories with relatively comfortable margins of 25 runs against Netherlands and 21 runs against Nepal.
Take a look at the three key player battles that will play a big role in deciding the outcome of the Australia vs Bangladesh Super 8 match.
Travis Head vs Tanzim Hasan Sakib
In four innings so far, Travis Head has scored 148 runs at a strike rate of almost 158. Bangladesh would want the wicket of Head at the earliest and their best bet to do so is Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
The right-arm pacer has used the new ball well and has taken nine wickets, joint third-highest in the tournament so far. If Sakib can take Head's wicket early, it would be a big relief for Bangladesh.
Marcus Stoinis vs Rishad Hossain
The newly top-ranked T20 allrounder Marcus Stoinis is the fourth highest scorer in the tournament. His strike rate is 190, way higher than absolutely anyone else in the competition.
The tall Bangladesh leggie Rishad Hossain has really impressed so far in this World Cup. He will be looking to add to his tally of seven wickets against Australia but for that winning the battle against Stoinis will be key.
Stoinis tends to struggle against wrist spin but on his day he can take it to the cleaners. A crucial battle awaits.
Shakib Al Hasan vs Adam Zampa
Shakib Al Hasan announced his return to form with a match-winning half-century against Netherlands in the group stage. The allrounder will be looking to build on that form against Australia but he will face the leg spin challenge of Adam Zampa.
Zampa is the joint third-highest wicket taker of the tournament with nine scalps. Shakib's wicket is key Bangladesh's batting and if Zampa can get that, the Asian side will be pushed on backfoot.
Will Zampa prevail or Shakib use his experience to come out on top?
