Bangladesh vs Scotland Prediction: Who will win today's T20 World Cup 2021 match?
Match two of the T20 World Cup 2021 will see a high-quality yet juxtaposing encounter between two of the Round 1 favorites, Bangladesh and Scotland, at the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
While Oman and Papua New Guinea are capable of upsets on their day, Bangladesh and Scotland would like to believe that the two spots from Group B are waiting to be grabbed from their more established and consistent teams.
In recent form, Mahmudullah Riyad's Bangladesh are anything but struggling. They lost to Sri Lanka by four wickets in the first qualifier and were trounced by Ireland with a humbling 33-run margin. The defeats have exposed chinks in the combination of one of the most exciting sides in world cricket. How they manage those in the coming days will define their path in the tournament.
Scotland, on the other hand, are riding a massive wave of momentum. They brushed aside the high-ranked Netherlands by 32 runs, having bowled them for just 90 runs in the second innings. A high-scoring encounter against Namibia tested a different facet of the Scotts' temperament, and they once again came on top by 19 runs. The warning bell has been rung by Kyle Coetzer's team.
T20 World Cup 2021: Bangladesh's bowling riches against Scotland's batting heft
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Matchday 🙌
🆚 Scotland
🏆 ICC T20 World Cup 2021
🏏 Round 1
🏟 Al Amerat Cricket Ground
🕑 8:00 PM (Bangladesh Time)
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On paper, Bangladesh looks similar to the team we have been accustomed to seeing in the past few years, a team that can give the already-qualified 'Super Eight' a run for their money.
However, a deeper probe unveils some major issues. The top order is without the rock-solid Tamim Iqbal for the first time in a major tournament and his younger replacements haven't been able to inspire confidence yet. Mohammad Naim and Linton Das are quality players but need to shred their inconsistency.
The three senior batters - Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim - aren't in the best of form either. Bangladesh missed Shakib's all-round skills in the warm-ups, but his lack of batting returns takes away some of the optimism. He'll bat in a higher position for Bangladesh than he did for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but if that doesn't work, the Tigers will find themselves in deep trouble.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh's bowling has enough arsenal to offset any disadvantage of batting form. In Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib they have two world-class match-winners. Rahman is among the best, if not the best pacer in this first round and will be crucial for his team and Shakib, like he showed in the IPL, could bring his left arm off-spin to good use in any situation.
That said, Bangladesh will have to be far from being complacent. After all, they know the art of upsetting and the distraught of missing out on it due to cockiness better than anyone else in the prefecture.
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Bangladesh's bowlers will undergo their toughest test in the first round against Scotland's daunting top-three. Captain Kyle Coetzer, hard-hitting George Munsey and Calum Macleod are all renowned names in the associate arena. All of them are in form and will step onto the field with the ability to singlehandedly win the match.
They are likely to find support in the bowling department from accurate left-arm spinner Mark Watt and rising star leg-spinner Chris Greaves, both of whom were instrumental in the aforementioned beating of the Netherlands. The Scottish pace lineup is solid rather than spectacular, but they will be able to hold their wits against struggling opposition.
Scotland have not only won the warm-ups but are also coming off an impressive ODI hot streak against their other two Group B opponents - Oman and Papua New Guinea. If anyone can challenge Bangladesh's big-match know-how in this group, it's Scotland's pure flair.
It's always hard to pick a winner between an out-of-form experienced team and an in-form (comparatively) inexperienced side. But the recent trend of T20 competitions and the discreet pedigree of key players considered, Bangladesh should have just enough in them to pip over Scotland.
Prediction: Bangladesh to win the second match of T20 World Cup 2021