Bangladesh vs West Indies, 2nd T20I: Preview and expected playing XI
West Indies tormented Bangladesh in the first T20I at Sylhet to go 1-0 up in the series. They will now aim to secure series when they face Tigers in the second T20I at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday, December 20.
Both teams have played nine T20 internationals against each other with the scoreline slightly favouring the Caribbeans at 5-4. In their most recent clash on December 17, the Windies got the better of Tigers.
Bowling first, West Indies restricted Bangladesh to the sub-par total of 129 in 19 overs and then overhauled the target within 11 overs to win the match by eight wickets.
Bangladesh
With the series being a three-match affair, hosts Bangladesh finds themselves under pressure to win the second encounter to stay alive in the series. Despite the defeat, the hosts will take some confidence from their recent performance against Caribbeans and will aim to level honours in the second game.
Batting
Shakib Al Hasan was the sole performer for the Tigers in the first T20I and looked good during his innings of 61. The skipper will once again be the main threat to the Caribbeans.
Apart from Shakib, the hosts will also need strong contributions from their top order batsman who failed miserably in the first T20I. The openers Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das managed just five and six runs respectively and it will be essential that these two come out with much better performance and lay down a solid platform for the middle order.
Bowling
Mahmudullah and Mohammad Saifuddin took a wicket each, and the duo is expected to play a key role in the upcoming game too. On the other hand, the bowling trio of Mustafizur, Mehidy Hasan and Shakib would be expected to cause damage to the Windies batting lineup.
Expected Playing XI
Shakib Al Hasan (C), Mahmudullah, Ariful Haque, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Abu Hider Rony, Mustafizur Rahman, Liton Das, Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim.
West Indies
The Windies enjoyed their comeback in the shortest format and they will be taking heaps of confidence from that performance. They will hope to dominate the second T20I too and register their maiden series win in 2018 in sub-continent.
Batting
Opening the batting, Shai Hope scored 55 runs off 23 balls in the first T20I. He will again be expected to get his team off to a flier. Nicholas Pooran and Keemo Paul contributed decently with the bat in the first encounter and they would be expected to continue their good work with the bat in the upcoming match too.
Bowling
Sheldon Cottrell was the pick of the lot in the previous game with figures of 4-28 from four overs and the team will want the pacer to set the tone with the ball in the initial overs.
Skipper Carlos Braithwaite, Keemo Paul and Oshane Thomas are other experienced T20 campaigners in the side and all were among wickets on the previous occasion. These three will look to exploit the loopholes in Bangladeshi batting lineup with their variations.
Expected Playing XI
Carlos Brathwaite (C), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wk), Nicholas Pooran, Keemo Paul, Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo and Rovman Powell.