ICC Champions Trophy, Australia vs Bangladesh Match Prediction: Who will win today's match
Both Australia and Bangladesh go into their penultimate group game of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 knowing that a defeat will send them out of the competition. While rain washed away what looked like a certain defeat and gave Australia a point, Bangladesh weren’t so lucky as they were beaten by hosts England in the opening game of the tournament.
Australia will be looking to get the win that kickstarts their Champions Trophy campaign and will be counting on the help of their prolific run-getting duo of David Warner and Steve Smith. While they have plenty of support in the form of Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and co., the Aussies will bank on their captain and vice captain to lead the way as they seek victory. In the bowling department, Josh Hazlewood will look to continue his incredible performance against New Zealand while the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins will be hoping get their radar right against Bangladesh.
Extra Cover: ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Australia vs Bangladesh, 5 players to watch out for
Bangladesh’s main concern has been consistency. While their top-order fired against England, they still weren’t able to get over the line due to the lack of consistent performances by the rest of the batting department. Mustafizur Rahman may not have had a great deal to do in IPL 2017 but he has certainly kept his end of the bargain with the ball. All he needs is some support from the other pacers and probably a front-line spinner in the form of Mehedi Hasan.
With both sides boasting of a batting line-up in good form, The Oval, which has been a batsman’s paradise looks set to witness an intriguing clash between an evenly-balanced side and one that is struggling with the ball, both of whom need the victory for the same reason, to stay alive. How will the first D-N clash of this year’s tournament go, only time well.
Match date: 05-06-2017
Match time: 1800 hours (IST)
Venue: The Oval, London
If Australia bat first
Predicted score: 340+
Australia might be banking on their top three to fire to get them off to a great start and a match-winning total as well but it is not because they don’t have a strong middle-order to fall back upon. In fact, their batting depth is one of their biggest strengths even if the majority of their runs since the start of 2016 have been scored by either David Warner or Steve Smith.
So the pair will once again be crucial, especially against Bangladesh, whose bowling didn't look especially convincing in the opening game of this year’s tournament on a surface that didn’t offer a great deal of assistance.
Warner has shown that he can flay any attack on any surface and the combination of him and Aaron Finch is one that has brought a lot of laurels for Australia. Smtih will be hoping that continues against Bangladesh as a good start might be all that they need to put on a match-winning score.
Extra Cover: ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Australia Today's Probable playing 11 to face Bangladesh
Especially considering the form of not just Smith, who has nearly 1,400 ODI runs to his name since the start of 2016 but also presence of big-hitting all-rounders in Moises Henriques, Travis Head and the destructive Glenn Maxwell. They also have Matthew Wade to come in at No.7 to provide some final help if that is needed.
For Bangladesh, they will have to strike with the new ball, something that they fail to do in their opener. Mustafizur Rahman has been in great form but he hasn’t found the right support and Mortaza’s men will need the pacers to get early wickets and get into the Australian middle-order quickly if they are to have any chance of stopping them from putting on a mammoth total.
If Bangladesh bat first
Predicted score: 305+
If there was one area in which captain Mashrafe Mortaza would have been pleased is the form of the top order in the opening game against England. Both Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, two of their most experienced batsmen led from the front.
Unfortunately, both got out in quick succession and that led to them finishing with a below par score. Bangladesh will be hoping that there is no repeat of that against Australia, who have a much better bowling attack than England, even if they didn’t perform as well as captain Smith would have liked against New Zealand.
Tamim will also be the key to Bangladesh’s success and if the other batsmen can play around him and get the side to a total in excess of 300 then they are in with a shout. Especially if it is achieved against a bowling unit of the caliber of Australia.
Speaking of the Aussie bowling unit, Smith might not have been too happy with the way that they let New Zealand get away at the start but they did pull things back at the end. Josh Hazlewood in particular, seems to have emerged from the shadows as he delivered the second-best bowling figures in Champions Trophy history.
Mitchell Starc still seemed a little ring rusty as his yorkers became full tosses and both Pat Cummins and John Hastings, who complete the pace quartet, were expensive. They will be looking to change that and get off the mark in this year’s Champions Trophy by restricting Bangladesh to a straightforward total.
Predicted winners: Australia